Our cars are often thought of as expressions of our personality, people choose the colour and extras for their car to make them unique. These days there are plenty of technological gadgets to put in our cars that can be useful or just there for fun. A lot of car manufacturers have caught on to the demand for certain gadgets and have begun adding them to their cars as standard.
One of the most common additions to cars are new after-market car stereos as more and more people are looking for MP3 compatibility and top sound quality. Some car stereos now have added features that would make a home PC jealous with USB inputs and iPod connections, some cars even have the ability to play DVDs on small screens scattered around the car’s interior.
Another common feature of many modern cars is the built-in satellite navigation system. These devices have had a meteoric rise in popularity as they can give us turn by turn instructions to our destination. Essentially replacing the use of maps and your own sense of direction, satellite navigation (sat nav) systems have become the motorist’s best friend with many also designed for driving abroad.
Impressive stereos and sat navs have started being offered as extras with new cars but there are other technological features being added such as rear parking sensors. The sensors use sonar to detect upcoming objects which we could bump into when reversing. Parallel parking is a tricky task for many drivers and this feature can help prevent a bump or knock by warning the driver.
Some sensors are even more elaborate and include miniature CCTV cameras built into the car’s bumper. This gives you an even clearer, visual clue as top what’s behind you and how close you are to any obstacles.
Some cars have other sensor based technology as standard including automatic lights which detect light and dark and automatic windscreen wipers which detect rain. Some manufacturers even produce systems that alert you to dangerous driving, for example if you drift out of your lane on the motorway.
Technology in our cars is constantly changing and the most recent developments include cars designed to sense an accident before actually it actually occurs. By using similar sonar and camera equipment to the parking sensors to detect obstructions or dangers ahead, the car could apply the brakes.
It may seem that our cars could drive themselves with all this technology on board, but driving still needs our full attention and these technologies are designed to work with the driver and to make driving more enjoyable.
If you are looking for a new car that has the technological advances that make driving more convenient and safe then look at the best car finance and car loans available online.