Sherwood Buick GMC Offers New Buick Active Safety Features

Online, July 24, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Sherwood Buick is pleased to announce its offering of the ever-expanding line-up of Buick vehicles that offer active safety features. Active safety features are designed to help prevent crashes, unlike passive safety features which are designed to protect passengers in the event of a crash. For the 2013 model year, Buick is adding an active safety system to two of its models: the Verano and Encore.

The Verano and Encore already offer several passive safety features, like 10 standard air bags and body structures that consist of more than 60 percent high-strength steel, and now the active safety system promises to make them some of the safest vehicles on the road.

Expected this summer, the Verano will feature a standard Rear Vision Camera on all trim levels and an available safety package that includes Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Side Blind Zone Alert. Utilizing radar sensors, the two features help drivers to avoid collisions when changing lanes or backing up. The Rear Cross Traffic Alert is able to sense traffic behind the vehicle from up to 65 feet away, delivers an audible warning and places a red indicator on the Rear Vision Camera display.

"We want to integrate our backing visual warnings onto that screen so drivers know where to look and can quickly see for themselves what's causing the warning," said Raymond Kiefer, General Motors Active Safety Technical Fellow. "That way, they can react quickly to what the camera, radar and ultrasonic sensors are detecting."

The all-new Encore, which is set to arrive in early 2013, will be the first vehicle in its segment to offer Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Alert. A single camera sensor in the front of the vehicle allows both features to function.

"Studies suggest that people can use changes in object size as they approach to estimate how long until they collide," said Kiefer. "Buick's single-camera detection system works much like a human eye, with state-of-the-art image processing equipment analyzing 10-12 scene images per second to decide if the changes in the size of a vehicle ahead suggest a crash may be just a few seconds away."

If you're interested in learning more about Buick active safety system, or in scheduling a test drive of a Buick vehicle that features one, visit Sherwood Buick in Delray Beach, FL. You can also visit them online, at http://www.sherwooddelray.com/.