FEATURE Story:
Gentex, maker of the “Cadillac mirror” that displays a video stream behind the car, showed off the next generation of the mirror at the recent SEMA Show.
The new version has a wider, brighter mirror with more inputs for side and rear cameras and blind spot monitoring.
The new mirror, will be offered to car makers first. It measures 9.6 inches, compared to the original’s 7.3 inches. It now has Bluetooth so it can can connect to a phone to show turn by turn directions and notifications for incoming phone calls.
The mirror resolution moves up to 1600 by 320 (compared to the previous 1280 by 275), which allows for the additional displays for side mirrors, said a Gentex spokesman at the recent SEMA Show. It can also provide distance overlays of objects ahead relative to the car.
The new Gen-2 Full Display Mirror (FDM) as the original”Cadillac Mirror,” lets drivers manually flip into rear video mode to show full HD video behind the car for those times when your rear view is blocked by passengers or packages.
AT CES, Gentex will announce the first car maker to adopt the new version of the mirror.
In the meanwhile, VOXX, which distributes the FDM mirror to the car audio aftermarket, said it is now shipping new versions of the mirror that add an input for back up cameras (although the VOXX versions do not provide for side mirror/blind spot monitoring).
VOXX will ship in January at $1099 four versions of the mirror, replacing the original. All now have two inputs to accommodate a backup camera.
The mirror comes in a basic version, and a version with Homelink garage door control. Then there’s a long neck mirror (for cars where ADAS electronics are located around the mirror) and a shorter neck version.
