Apart from the fact that half the driving public don't use them .... Why do we still have chunks of glass, metal and plastic sticking out into the airflow; generating wind noise and probably reducing our cars fuel efficiency?

I'm not saying we don't need them, but surely they can now be replaced by cameras? Cars now have camera's to assist with reversing, pulling out of junctions and even showing the entire perimeter of the car, so why haven't they replaced wing mirrors? A couple of screens and cameras aren't that expensive and you sometimes see them on concept cars... So why not?

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Cheers,

Ian

why change them, half the ignorant knob jockeys on the road wont leave lane three regardless of what they had to aid their vision

its got so bad recently i have been in lane 1 cruising along passing columns of idiots doing 65 in lane 3!!

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WIBBLE

If we didn't have wing mirrors, what would Mick_N do for a living?
There's probably some legal reason, much like having to have glass headlights up until 1998 or whenever it was.

Cameras small, strong enough and high quality enough to be fitted without requiring huge mounting systems have only really been around the last 10 years or so - GoPro etc.

They still aren't that cheap, either. Not ones that will take the sort of abuse that comes with being mounted on the 'outside' of the car (IE near the bits that get cold, wet, physically shocked, etc).

There's also still the issue that glass is generally more reliable than electronics which are sensitive to moisture and temperature.

In other words, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Updated December 2, 2012 at 8:25 AM

Wing mirrors look good.

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My Flickr

Invisible Speakers

I like wing mirrors, especially ones like these:

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If there is an emergency, please call 999.

99.9% of cars haven't had wing mirrors for years.

Door mirrors however.....

Dr.(tbc) Alex said...

I like wing mirrors, especially ones like these:

Really? I always thought they looked particularly ridiculous.

Door mirrors are simple, effective and in many cases aesthetically easy on the eye.Evolution has taken us from chrome mounted storks on the front wings to door mounted electrically heated and adjustable so cameras may indeed be the next step. Personally if it is anything like the evolution of the handbrake to the electronic parking brake, I think I would prefer the good old mirror.

p7ulg said...

Door mirrors are simple, effective and in many cases aesthetically easy on the eye.Evolution has taken us from chrome mounted storks on the front wings...

Yeah, I can remember when my dad had to order these after a small bump in his Simca:

Updated December 2, 2012 at 10:28 AM

Beany said...

p7ulg said...

Door mirrors are simple, effective and in many cases aesthetically easy on the eye.Evolution has taken us from chrome mounted Stalks on the front wings...

Yeah, I can remember when my dad had to order these after a small bump in his Simca:

Updated December 2, 2012 at 10:38 AM

THIS Mercedes F200 didn't have them. It had cameras instead.

mik said...

99.9% of cars haven't had wing mirrors for years.

Door mirrors however.....

Thank you!

Probably because cars would look weird without them.

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Never say no to a panda.

Some wing mirrors looked awful - Jag XJ220, Aston Martin Virage Vantage, DB7, some TVR to name but a few...

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You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself.

Mirrors don't go wrong.

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139.0001BHP on supermarket UL, glovebox open, hood down, seats reclined at a jaunty angle.
My mats are blank.

Si_ said...

Mirrors don't go wrong.

They do if you smash them against something due to the increased width that they are responsible for.

Christine once smashed her Saxo mirror against another car's coming the other way, and I had an interesting moment last year on a narrow lane when a Golf's mirror was smashed to pieces against the GTR's. Oddly there was not even a scratch on the GTR's. The other driver and myself were baffled by that.

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Impreza WRX STi Spec-C V-Limited Toshi Arai Edition/ GTR/ Panda 100HP Pandamonium/ Insignia CDTi 160

27Gilles said...

Some wing mirrors looked awful - Jag XJ220, Aston Martin Virage Vantage, DB7, some TVR to name but a few...

These mirrors were sourced from the last generation Citroen CX

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Pilouil
Citroen C3 1.4 HDI 69.0424 bhp

Mark BT52 said...

Si_ said...

Mirrors don't go wrong.

They do if you smash them against something due to the increased width that they are responsible for.

Christine once smashed her Saxo mirror against another car's coming the other way, and I had an interesting moment last year on a narrow lane when a Golf's mirror was smashed to pieces against the GTR's. Oddly there was not even a scratch on the GTR's. The other driver and myself were baffled by that.

I'd rather have a mirror smashed over my door

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Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.

Mark BT52 said...

Si_ said...

Mirrors don't go wrong.

They do if you smash them against something due to the increased width that they are responsible for.

Christine once smashed her Saxo mirror against another car's coming the other way, and I had an interesting moment last year on a narrow lane when a Golf's mirror was smashed to pieces against the GTR's. Oddly there was not even a scratch on the GTR's. The other driver and myself were baffled by that.

I think I've had 2 mirrors taken out my pigeons and the like over my 20 odd years of driving!