1-2-3 - the rear-view mirror inflation
02/27/2017
Today, we take the rear-view mirror so much for granted that we can hardly imagine a car without it. But 100 years ago, there was hardly a vehicle in which it would have been possible to observe the traffic behind with a mirror. It is said to have been the American Ray Harroun who used such a mirror for the first time in 1911 at the Indianapolis 500. He was able to do without a co-driver, which saved him 70 kg and secured victory.
In road traffic, a rear-view mirror was not required until many years later and a single (interior) mirror was usually sufficient until the 1970s.
In fact, exterior mirrors were still an accessory for a long time, usually at extra cost, and even in the 1980s it was still possible to buy cars with only one exterior mirror (driver's side) as standard, while the second mirror cost extra even on luxury-class cars. For sporty types, the installation of a sports wing mirror (e.g. Talbot) was still compulsory for a long time, depending on taste far forward on the driver's side fender.
Then two exterior mirrors became mandatory and today even their minimum size is standardized. Over the last thirty years, not only cars, but also exterior mirrors have grown visibly, making a measurable contribution to exterior width. While cameras and displays are already being used in concept cars today to monitor traffic behind, this is hardly ever seen in road traffic. After all, they cannot be used to check make-up when the car is stationary (switched off) and the solution is no good for detectives or spies either. But that could certainly change in the future.
Not only the number of mirrors has increased, but also their comfort functions. Today, an exterior mirror can heat itself and adjust electrically. They offer an extended wide-angle field of vision and can swivel downwards to observe the edge of the vehicle when reversing. A "blind spot warning" can be superimposed to indicate invisible traffic and a small indicator light can show that the blinker has been activated. The exterior mirror has also become a small technical marvel that Daimler and Benz could hardly have imagined ...
