First car with foldable electric mirrors

[alcyon]

Ok ,I am no automotive historian, but I believe the 2nd generation toyota soarer which ran from 1986 to 1991 was the first to have a folding electric mirror, which started in the 1st model year of 1986. As far as i know it wasn't even an option on most cars back then. Any of you remembered your first car with electric folding mirrors and which model year ?

 

[Ethan1]

I haven't had one yet. Ask me again in 20 or 30 years

 

[hpb]

The first car I remember with electric folding mirrors was the Ford Taurus when they started importing them into Australia in the early 90's. The reason I remember is they had an issue where water would get into a wiring connector, then the mirrors would continually fold in and out until the battery went flat. And this was on brand new vehicles sitting in our holding yard! Ford only brought Taurus into Oz for a couple of years...sales were extremely poor.

 

[eljefino]

Not surprised it was a Japanese brand; they had very defined size classes of car to fit on their narrow streets and having mirrors fold in is part of that mystique.

In fact I was annoyed when the 92 ish "bubble" camry came out tuned for Americans as IMO they got sloppy with trying to contain its size compared to previous models.

 

[blupupher]

Have not had one yet, don't really want one either, just something else to break.

 

[IndyIan]

I didn't realize I had folding mirrors at all in the CRV until I caught one on a small tree... Worked perfectly to save itself. No power folding though.

 

[andyd]

I remember Mercedes bragging about their folding mirrors back in the 80s. Head light wipers too.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Might have been only an export-market feature. Up until fairly recently, Japan market vehicles required mirrors on the fenders, not the doors.

 

[WhizkidTN]

Certainly not an early adopter of this feature but my '12 Kia Optima SX has this. I push the button every time I park the car.

 

[SilverSnake]

Don't know when the first power folding mirrors came out but our first car with them was a 2011 BMW. Never used them. Second was my 2014 Ram. Best option on the truck. I have to fold in the mirrors to get it into its space in the garage. Would have been a giant pain in the butt to do so without the power option. Love them.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: andyd
I remember Mercedes bragging about their folding mirrors back in the 80s. Head light wipers too.


IIRC Volvo was the first to offer the headlight wipers. Possibly making them standard on many mid-late Euro modeled 70's cars.

First vehicle I ever saw them on (and used them) was in the mid 90's. My dad rented a 3.2 Isuzu Trooper with them. I thought it was a cool feature. Unnecessary, but cool

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: andyd
I remember Mercedes bragging about their folding mirrors back in the 80s. Head light wipers too.

My '86 MB 420SEL had mirrors that folded if you bumped into or pushed on them, but not electric ones. Maybe the top of the line 560 did? Though I don't recall reading about that in their brochures.

Mine had a power rear seat and the little headlight wipers. The wipers actually came in handy in snowy/slushy conditions.

 

[PimTac]

The Mitsubishi Outlander has power folding mirrors. They open when the doors are unlocked and fold in when doors are locked. There is a switch inside to turn the feature off.