There is no reason for a blind spot. If you can see the back of your car with the side view mirror you are looking at a spot you can already see with the rear view mirror. Way off by 30 degrees or more. Watch cars in the left lane as they come up from behind in the rear view mirror. They should disappear from the rear view mirror at the same time as they start to appear in the side view mirror. There ya go. Ain't technology great.
Blind Spot Myth
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The blind spot mirror on the driver side had already saved me twice from changing lanes into a car back on the back left rear of my car. The warning is bright gold/yellow and blinks rapidly if you use your turn indicator to change lanes, while a car is in the blind spot area.
The fast blinking from the mirror also alerts the other driver your headed his way. So it helps the Camry driver along with the driver in the blind spot. The yellow warning if very bright at night, but can easily be seen during the day. To me it's a great feature and I also like having the back up camera.
Maybe it means more to me due to my old age.
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I agree. A guy gave a safety talk years ago that I will always remember. The gist of it was set your side mirrors like a race car driver. Turn them out until you can't see the back of your car. In fact turn them out until you have to turn your head significantly to just barely see the back of your own car. Most people don't set their mirrors anywhere close to that angle, and it essentially eliminates the blind spot.
Vehicle Blind Spot .
I like to use my side view mirrors to back into a parking space. How does that work if they're offset by 30 deg? I don't want to have to lean over to be able to the side of my car vs parking space line.
BTW, I missed the myth part? False advertising
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I like to use my side view mirrors to back into a parking space. How does that work if they're offset by 30 deg? I don't want to have to lean over to be able to the side of my car vs parking space line.
BTW, I missed the myth part? False advertising
....
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2,431 Posts
My wish for an option on the Camry Hybrid is auto setting of the mirrors and seat position using the smart key. Each of the smart keys is linked to the preferred mirror and seat position of the key owner. As soon as you activate the key to open the door the mirrors and seat self adjusts. That way I don't have to spend time readjusting after the Mrs has set her preferred position, which is very different than my wide angle setting.
The Australian model seems to offer it, but not in North America.
The Australian model seems to offer it, but not in North America.
Boy you are not kidding. I really miss this coming from a car that had it!
Popular Mechanics listed Motorized Rearview Mirror as one of the 10 Most useless car technologies.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/pictures/10-most-useless-car-technologies#slide-6
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/pictures/10-most-useless-car-technologies#slide-6
Other notables include:
- Paddle Shifters for Automatic Transmissions - found on my SE, thank you very much :lol:
- Automatic Moisture-Sensing Wipers
- Map Lights - found in sunroof equipped Camrys
- Motorized Rearview Mirror
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- Yes, I can't imagine shifting an automatic.
- Actually the auto sensing wipers work very well in my Mazda 3. I do turn them off in winter, as they get confused by snow.
- Map lights are a whatever. What I don't like is the switch which turns off the auto interior lights - Mazda feature. My wife always manages to find that by mistake, and I don't discover it until I get in the vehicle at night, and can't even find the switch because the whole car is dark! The other similar annoyance is the switch which turns off the auto on at dark headlights.
- Yes, I can't believe they would put a motorized mirror in the interior. However, one Ford I had used auto darkening glass in the mirror, and that worked really well for hands free avoiding glare from lights behind at night. I thought the 2012 Camry had that darkening technology?
I read lots of leaks about the new '12 Camry hybrid months before it's release. The engine size, 2.5 liter, low friction improvements, rings slicker main bearings. The information was coming from Australia where the car was then being possibly designed and tested. My guess is the smart key, mirror and seat settings feature is being tested on the new '12 Camry's in Australia. Could be the '13 or '14 Camry here in American would have that same new feature.
Could be in the next few years toyota may make the blind side mirrors a standard feature just to help promote their Camry. After all it's a great safety feature like the extra air bags they now have in the new '12 Camry.
My XLE hybrid came with the auto dimming mirror. The mirror somehow turns a lite yellowish/turquoise color to knock down the glare from the car lights behind you. I don't think it's motorized, never heard any noise from this one or the '07 I owned.
G
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·Flat out told my dealer I would not buy the TCH without the Blind Spot Monitor. Love it.
Toyota vehicles being best sellers gives them plenty of money to design advanced improvements over the competition. It would be interesting to see how much money it took to design the blind spot monitor system.
I remember reading the first Prius toyota came out with cost the company $49,000 each to build. Toyota tested it for years before releasing it for sale in '97 in Japan. The car was sold worldwide in 2000. Toyota decided on a sale price of $18,950. So ever prius they sold for years Toyota lost money till the car caught on. In the late 90's $49,000 was a lot of money. Prius sales went to 1 million in 2008 and 2 million in 2010.
Now I would like to know how much it cost toyota to completely rebuild this advanced 2012 Camry Hybrid that many of us are driving.
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Excellent question!!
In 2003, I bought my red Camry (shiny new) and I agonized over the Camry vs. Prius decision then. I did a lot of research, and I remember hearing the same story as you've given above. Very interesting.
And like you,I'd also like to know -how much did our 2012 Camry cost???
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