Mazda's 626 SensorCar is equipped with devices to issue pre-impact warnings of many kinds. A grille-mounted laser radar unit keeps an eye out for pedestrians beyond the effective range of headlights and trips a warning light in the dash, makes a beeping tone through the speakers, or even blows the horn if someone steps into the car's path.
When all of the cameras and sensors fail and a crash occurs, that's when Ford's RescueCar Taurus leaps into action. RescueCar's ability to report a serious crash and its exact location to emergency workers is not ground-breaking, since GM's OnStar service has been doing that in the field for a few years.
But RescueCar takes it a little farther by providing key information on the condition of the car's occupants. The system in the concept car tells emergency workers how many people are in the car, where they were sitting, and how much restraint force was required by the airbags and seatbelts.
The crowning touch would surely be the information delivered by the in-car camera, since it would broadcast a view of the inside of the vehicle and its occupants so doctors could suggest emergency aid and prepare the best hospital treatment for when the victims arrive.
Ford will not say when or even if any or all of these systems will be used, but company executives make it clear that none of the safety and security features is beyond current technology or price barriers.