Digital dashes hold a special place in the collective memory of all those who lived through the 80s and early 90s, with more than a few manufacturers trying their hands at futurising the cockpit of your car. After all, who wants an old-school gauge when they could have glowing bars shooting up and along a graph-like bar? Apparently most of us, as it wasn’t long before the digital dash was relegated to to halls of Tried It And It Sucked.
I always felt the idea was fine in theory, but with the poor quality of early digital technology, it simply failed when it came to accuracy and, well, working at all.
Over time though, digital instrument readouts have made a return. Mostly seen these days in the form of a small screen between the revmeter and speedometer, they generally offer the more basic yet vital information. Fuel and fluid levels, engine information, error messages, reminders to book your next service, and so forth.
A few manufacturers over the past couple of years—largely in Japan—have been experimenting with night vision, giving your car the ability to view further down the road than your headlights can offer, and give you an earlier warning to possible obstructions in the road.
Toyota’s Japan-only Crown Hybrid offers such a feature in an entirely digital dash. Where the previous model displayed the night vision image directly on to the windscreen, the new dash screen allows for an unobstructed view of the road while still feeding you the visual of two wombats fornicating in the middle of the road before you hit them. On top of that, the screen also offers different style gauges and readouts depending on the mode you’re in; casual driving, sports mode, etc. Now that’s good dash.
Can I also say, that is a hell of an interior. Beautiful. Toyota Australia, lift your game!
[via Tech On]
Loading ...
Comments
Click here to jump to Add Comment box
How do you get a picture next to your name?
Get a Gravatar. Click here to find out more.
Michael, Michael! look out for those two drunk pedestrians Michael.
Toyota drivers drive at night……….hahaha.
Just a thought; but the other way of looking at it is of course that the screen is like a radar on a fighter jet to help you line up your target..
Haha Wheelnut. When out trail riding I don’t fix my eyes on that one big rock or stick which will stop you getting up that steep hill, because, without meaning to, you tend to aim at it.
I flicker my glance over everything and look as far forward as possible, keep that big rock in my peripheral vision, and you tend to miss it.
hahaha……….mmmmmm I know whom I would like in my sights at the moment! Ex husband will do!
LOL BM.
I quite liked the digital dash I had in the XF Fairmont Ghia. Except digital readouts, as the article says, was in its infancy. They weren’t terribly accurate.
I remember fondly the first V8 I drove. A chocolate brown VK Calais…with digital instruments. The car was great, the dash was a disaster.
BM, don’t go denting the M3 on the ex!!!
Ahh the digital dash, like the Alfa Romeo 90…
Maybe you can tell the cops you didn’t know you were doing 10 over cos the LED blocks are only in 5km/h increments…
http://www.doubleyoudigital.nl/digidash/digidash_alfa90qv.jpg
MISSILE…………………know I cant have you commenting that jibberish about ex as its just not cricket! Thats all I got to say about that!
On story……love the dash and will make it hard to keep eyes on road me thinks!
aha..Steane,I just said the same about the VK Calais director I had on the Muscle Car thread………was hard to live with!
No I wont dent the M3 on him…..hes not worth it!
NM I know what you would do too him,but we best not go there!
The night vision could come in handy though,most women cant drive anywhere as well as men at night,their eyes dont adapt as well,Im sure x-ray vision would be more exciting for us ladies……now theres a good idea,being able to see through men and check if their wearing briefs or boxers….o wait I can get under the jocks…….now where talking!hahaha…….
I love the image used for this topic, it looks more like a the scope of a fighter jet. Perhaps thats the idea…
“Toyota control, we have two targets locked on screen, one target is within unauthorised automotive road space, permission to run down target, please advise”
Will it see thru clothes as well….. theres good and bad for that.
TP would never need it. safely tucked up by eight O’clock.