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Top 10 Car Technologies We'll No Longer Do Without

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Daniel Rufiange
From heated seats to airbags, from Bluetooth connectivity to collision alerts, here are the technologies that have become indispensable to us today as we drive

3 - Backup Camera

BMW X5
BMW X5 | Photo: BMW

Thirty or forty years ago, it was easy to do without a rearview camera because when you turned your head while backing up, you have a good view in back of you, car design being what it was. Today, the design of the models we have available to us most often mean you can hardly see anything. As a result, the rearview camera has become a must-have - in fact it has been mandatory in all new vehicles sold since 2018.

And the first one ever offered in a vehicle? Again, you have to go back – way back – to find it, to 1956, when a Buick concept called the Centurion, featured a TV screen displaying images from a backup camera. The first production car to offer it was the Toyota Soarer (Japan) starting in 1991.

After that, Nissan played a pioneering role by extending its technology in the early 2000s and even offering a 360-degree view with some Infiniti products in the late 2000s. Now, you can’t buy a new car without it being there. Talk about ubiquitous.

Backup camera
Backup camera | Photo: caraudionow.com
Backup camera image
Backup camera image | Photo: cars.com
Daniel Rufiange
Daniel Rufiange
Automotive expert
  • Over 17 years' experience as an automotive journalist
  • More than 75 test drives in the past year
  • Participation in over 250 new vehicle launches in the presence of the brand's technical specialists