Next-generation Vauxhalls will ‘talk to each other’

Vauxhall's new Calibra will have the very latest technology which is set to make the company's models some of the safest in the world

Auto Express Car Reviews

Photos: Chris Robson

12th July 2007

The firm has come up with an incredible safety system which should drastically reduce the chance of a road traffic accident.

Called Vehicle-to-Vehicle – or V2V for short – it employs some highly sophisticated GPS-based technology that enables two cars in close proximity to ‘talk’ to each other.

Capable of calculating location, speed, acceleration and direction of travel, the system can be used to warn the driver of a potential collision – for example, if a car ahead is stopped on a blind bend. In such a situation, V2V can warn the driver visually, acoustically or by vibrations through their seat. The electronics will even automatically apply the brakes if the driver takes no action.

Vehicle-to-Vehicle can also be used to alert the driver to overtaking cars hidden in their blind spot, to unindicated lane changes by other drivers and to potential rear end collisions – where it flashes the brake lights to warn the driver behind too. The system isn’t yet available on production Vauxhalls, but will be shortly. Read Auto Express next week for an exclusive test of the technology.