Toyota Auris

15th October 2006

The green light is being given to thrifty motoring, with the introduction of a new dashboard-mounted lamp - and it could feature on Toy­ota's Corolla replacement.

The hatchback, to be badged Auris, will have a glowing green car symbol that lights up next to the speedometer when the driver is careful with fuel.

But heavy-footed motorists will never see the light - only larger bills at the filling station. The set-up is part of a range of new technology revealed this week at the Intelligent Transport Systems world congress at the ExCeL arena in London's Docklands.

Sat-nav-based dashboard electron­ics can keep an eye on motorists to help cut fuel bills, and even tell fleet bosses who their best drivers are.

Using a special database, it detects when speed limits are being obeyed, while radar measures the distance between cars. "Good driving can then be converted to rewards," said inventor Paul van Koningsbruggen of Techno­lution Netherlands. "The technology is ready to be built straight into cars."

Insurers have shown interest in offering rewards as tests revealed drivers using the system had fewer accidents, added van Koningsbruggen.

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