In December 2014, Cadillac wowed the world by introducing the Rear Camera Mirror – a revolutionary new technology that replaces the traditional inside rear-view mirror with a screen that displays a live video feed of the area behind the vehicle. Fast forward to today, and every 2020 Cadillac model on sale today offers the Rear Camera Mirror, except for one: the all-new 2020 Cadillac CT4.
Those without first-hand experience with the Rear Camera Mirror should know that it delivers better visibility of what’s behind the vehicle by eliminating any in-cabin obstructions (such as headrests, pillars or rear seat passengers) while also delivering a wider field of view. The system is often confused with the rear vision camera (otherwise known as the backup camera), even though the two are entirely separate systems and even operate using distinct camera lenses (Cadillac models equipped with the Rear Camera Mirror have two lenses to run both features).
The feature is quite useful, and oftentimes serves as a noteworthy high-tech differentiator for Cadillac, since other luxury automakers currently do not offer anything similar.
The 2020 Cadillac CT4 does not offer the Rear Camera Mirror on any model, even as an extra-cost option. The reason for this is unclear, especially given that CT4’s stable mate on the crossover side of the lineup – the Cadillac XT4 – does offer the feature.
Instead, the small sedan makes do with a manual day/night mirror – the one where the driver must manually switch between day and night mode – on the base Luxury trim. On the Premium Luxury, Sport and CT4-V models, the manual mirror gets replaced with an auto-dimming mirror.
It’s also worth noting that the 2020 Cadillac CT4 offers a high-definition Rear Vision Camera as standard on all models, as do all 2020 model year Cadillacs.
Here’s to hoping that subsequent model years of the Cadillac CT4 will gain the Rear Camera Mirror as an option, because the technology significantly improves rearward visibility compared to a traditional rearview mirror. Meanwhile, those who prefer to use the traditional mirror function can simply “flip” the mirror back to turn off the video/feed and use the rearview mirror as, well, a traditional rearview mirror.
The Cadillac Rear Camera mirror initially launched on the 2016 CT6 and 2017 XT5 before making its way to the CTS and Escalade. The technology received several awards from various journalistic associations, magazines and publications, including:
The second generation of the Rear Camera Mirror launched a few years later on the refreshed 2019 Cadillac CT6 and all-new 2019 XT4. It introduced several improvements, including a frameless design, increased brightness adjustments (from 3 to 5), a zoom function, tilt/position adjustment of the camera and an increase in the screen and camera resolutions from 1280×240 pixels (Gen 1) to 1440×300 pixels (Gen 2).
Researchers and engineers working on the new rear camera mirror have been awarded ten different patents, one for the streaming video mirror and nine for its video processing capabilities. The patents cover different video features such as camera image calibration, de-warping, glare reduction, and camera hardware design.
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