Honda has launched a new parking assist system in its home market of Japan that, it says, takes the guesswork out of reverse parking. Unlike some other park assist systems, Honda's does not use a video monitor - instead it combines automatic steering assistance and voice guidance to help the driver to reverse into parking spaces.
According to Bosch, which manufactures a similar system to Honda's, in 2004 more than a million such systems were supplied.
The newest system from Honda - Smart Parking Assist - assesses the parking space available and calculates a preset path along which the driver is guided.
When parallel parking, the driver stops the car when a marking on the door lining is level with a determined point of a car already parked.
The driver then activates the system via a dash-mounted switch. There is one of three settings to choose from: reverse parallel parking or reversing into a left or right-hand parking bay.
The steering wheel angle is set automatically and the driver simply holds the steering wheel at that angle while reversing. When the car reaches an appropriate point, a voice prompt will instruct the driver to return the steering wheel to the centre setting, completing the manoeuvre.
Although the system is currently only available on Honda's Life model in Japan, if reaction there is positive it will only be a matter of time before it becomes available here as an option.
Honda is not the first to market with such a system. Lexus, the luxury arm of Toyota, will be offering a similar system on the new version of its LS-460, which goes on sale here at the end of November. Premium German car maker, BMW, is also set to offer a park assist option in two years.
At the Paris Motor Show last month, Valeo, an independent manufacturing giant that develops many auto technologies fitted to new cars, launched its new parking assistance system.
This will first be seen on the new Volkswagen Touran, which will arrive in Ireland for 2007.
This ultrasonic-based parking assistance system automatically steers the car into the parking slot in just 15 seconds. Valeo's Park4U also scans both sides of the street for potential parking slots based on the length of the car. The driver stops and puts the car in reverse, activating the automated steering.