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Night Vision and the Return of the Digital Dash

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


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]

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