Mirrors have been an integral part of motor vehicles for over a century. The low tech solution has solved the major visibility issues involved with driving and now car makers think they can do one better using cameras instead of mirrors. This may be an improvement in large trucks where visibility using mirrors can be poor to the point that obstacles directly in front and behind the vehicle cannot be seen but for cars it may prove to be a theft opportunity.
Best not to mount a mirror, or indeed a camera, directly in the line of fire of a neighboring car door in the parking lot. Maybe someone should tell them about the practicalities of life?
(Score: 2) by julian on Thursday January 02 2020, @04:49AM
VW made a concept car called the XL1 [wikipedia.org] meant to be able to travel 100km on 1 liter of (diesel) fuel. They had to do everything possible to make it as aerodynamic as possible. So the side mirrors had to go. The screens for the mirrors are placed in the doors, forward of the arm rests. Tesla already has cameras that are flushmounted so there's nothing to break off. They could take off the side mirrors at any time and start putting side screens in, or just have the video feed in the center display show the side view feeds. That might be weird to get used to but I think it would probably work if they could get it approved by regulators.