By Scott Sturgis
The 2013 Infiniti JX35 allows (the driver to see behind…)
I've never been one to need all the latest must-have gadgetry.
Sure, all the other car writers hear this and laugh in unison at me, but I can take it.
Luddism is in my genes. The late Grandpa Driver's Seat never had a car with power windows or air conditioning until 1992. "More things to break," he'd say.
These days, as I see all the gadgetry out there and scan automakers' technical service bulletins, I think the old guy may have been on to something. (Besides, keeping Sturgis Kids 1.0 through 4.0 in food and shoes has made finding spare change for new toys challenging.)
But every once in a while, even I am impressed.
So here's my ode to two technological advances I've tested out recently, and a follow-up on a third.
It sees ... and stops: Most of my guest vehicles spend their visits outside. My garage is always busting at the seams, between my own projects and the temporary college dormitory paraphernalia.
But I had the luck to park a 2013 Infiniti JX35 crossover in the garage. Lucky, because while backing out the first time, I noticed the rearview camera on the dash featured a picture ... of my garage. I thought "Hmm. Google Earth." Then, "Noooo, Sturgis. You're inside.
"What the ...?"
So I talked with Kyle Bazemore, senior manager of Infiniti communications, who explained to me the around-view monitor, which Infiniti debuted in 2009.
Bazemore said that four cameras on the vehicle - one under each side-view mirror, one under the license plate, and another on the grille - capture images of all sides of the vehicle. A computer program blends these images before they appear on the dashboard monitor. And, voilà, I can see the baseball mitts hanging on my garage wall on my JX35 TV.
But it's more than just a neato idea.
It's tied into the moving-object detection and backup collision intervention systems, which debut on the new-for-2013 JX35. These also use radar and sonar sensors.
What does it do? If the vehicle is in reverse and an animal or a child, say, nears the vehicle, the detection system not only makes it clear in the camera, but it will apply the brakes for the driver.
It works for inanimate objects, as well. I was able to safely test this out with some shrubbery near my driveway, and the system will stop the vehicle. And it's hard to override with less than a full-throttle stomp.
Source: Philly
So here's my ode to two technological advances I've tested out recently, and a follow-up on a third.
It sees ... and stops: Most of my guest vehicles spend their visits outside. My garage is always busting at the seams, between my own projects and the temporary college dormitory paraphernalia.
But I had the luck to park a 2013 Infiniti JX35 crossover in the garage. Lucky, because while backing out the first time, I noticed the rearview camera on the dash featured a picture ... of my garage. I thought "Hmm. Google Earth." Then, "Noooo, Sturgis. You're inside.
"What the ...?"
So I talked with Kyle Bazemore, senior manager of Infiniti communications, who explained to me the around-view monitor, which Infiniti debuted in 2009.
Bazemore said that four cameras on the vehicle - one under each side-view mirror, one under the license plate, and another on the grille - capture images of all sides of the vehicle. A computer program blends these images before they appear on the dashboard monitor. And, voilà, I can see the baseball mitts hanging on my garage wall on my JX35 TV.
But it's more than just a neato idea.
It's tied into the moving-object detection and backup collision intervention systems, which debut on the new-for-2013 JX35. These also use radar and sonar sensors.
What does it do? If the vehicle is in reverse and an animal or a child, say, nears the vehicle, the detection system not only makes it clear in the camera, but it will apply the brakes for the driver.
It works for inanimate objects, as well. I was able to safely test this out with some shrubbery near my driveway, and the system will stop the vehicle. And it's hard to override with less than a full-throttle stomp.
Source: Philly
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