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Convex Side Mirrors Eliminate Blind Spots

One of the most dreaded things about driving is the blind spot, that place in space where the car that passes yours is invisible to both the interior and exterior mirrors of your car. Of course, missing objects in the blind spot can be eliminated by actually turning your head before engaging in lane changing, but that can be at times dangerous too.

In time, several more or less effective devices have been created to help tackle this problem but until now, most of them were after market gadgets. Currently, the problem is being researched by manufacturers themselves, with few even fitting their vehicles with different technologies to eliminate blind spots.

In Ford's case, those technologies translate into the use of the convex mirrors, a cheaper and effective alternative to the existing solutions. The convex mirrors, which cost $10 to $15 per vehicle, will be offered on future Ford vehicles and have several advantages.

First of all, the aforementioned low price will make them more appealing to future consumers. More appealing than, say, GM's radar-based detection system. Secondly, being designed by the manufacturer itself, they will no longer spoil the overall design of the vehicle, as they will come as built-in features, not add-ons.

Magna International already ordered a study from AutoPacific to see what system is preferred by customers. 69 percent of the 967 drivers who tested both systems said they would go for Ford's simple solution, rather than for GM's high-tech gadget.

"It's like almost an extra sense that you have to get used to when you're in the car," Joseph, one of the drivers in the study told Freep. "It's more information."
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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