A head-up display is a display that places information in or just outside the driver’s line of sight, above the plane of the dashboard.
While a head-up display can take almost any form, the most common and compelling type reflects its image directly off the car’s windshield just below the driver’s line of sight. This is achieved by means of a display on the top of the dashboard and a specially coated windshield. In the early 1990s, General Motors introduced HUDs that supplemented the vehicle’s instrument panel, meaning it placed information already available in the gauges closer to the driver’s view of the road. In the Pontiac Bonneville, the HUD showed a digital speedometer, turn-signal icons and little else. Over the years, GM HUDs have become more sophisticated, as in the Chevrolet Corvette, which adds a tachometer and the option to cycle among oil pressure, coolant temperature and fuel level readings. GM also sells a HUD in the GMC Acadia and Cadillac STS. BMW also has an available HUD system on many of its vehicles.
The feature is becoming more useful and flexible as automakers move away from LED icon-based displays to “configurable” LCD monitors that can display just about anything.
Information for this was taken from the Cars.com’s glossary, written by Joe Wiesenfelder.
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I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with heads up display and I absolutely love it! I hate to get rid of my old Prix because the display system is currently out of favor and I can't get another one at a realistic price. It seems so much safer to merely refucus to read the speed or radio station, rather than look away from the road. My GP has the option of dimming the display for night driving, adjusting the angle up or down for taller or shorter drivers, or even turning the display totally off.
It dispalys speed,radio station,turning signals and low fuel icon... all the essentials.