I Like Back-Up Cameras - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test
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I Like Back-Up Cameras - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test
Our 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited has a back-up camera that takes full advantage of the humungous 8.4-inch U-Connect screen.
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Don't skip over the cons, Dan. You're going to have to find two places on a modern car's dash to stick monitors for those side view cameras. Also, almost every car now has decent side view mirrors, just of different shapes and sizes; how much fun is it going to be relying on grainy, low cost versions of your proposed setup in cheaper cars?
As someone who doesn't like bright dash lights for night time driving, I'm certainly not going to like two screens (even in a night mode) flooding the cabin with light. Finally, don't forget that increasing electrical draw won't do any favors to fuel economy. Those gains might not be as large as you think.
You've also highlighted on some cars that the backup camera can become foggy or noisy during the night and in inclement weather. So why would it be a good idea to replace heated mirrors, which we KNOW works properly in nearly all conditions, with cameras, which add complexity and don't always produce a clear image? I've even seen some publications complaining about Honda's lanewatch system being distracting if they're on all the time.
I guess maybe they will find ways to overcome the problems of cameras and the varying extremes of lighting they end up having to deal with. But as much as I love the back up camera on my car on bright days it often isn't possible to differentiate between a shadow and an obstruction in the road. At night it has trouble with bright lights hitting part of the camera and if it is wet and dark it often turns into an impressionist painting rather than a view of what is behind me. When I look in a mirror at a car with bright headlights behind me it isn't pleasant but my eyes can still make out what is behind me around the light source. I'm yet to see a camera that can do that.