Your neighbor just got a new car and it's stuffed with fancy gizmos like cameras that whoop alarms and flash lights if he's about to hit something and a smartphone app that tells him when it's time for an oil change. Too bad your old clunker doesn't have any of that stuff, right?

Not so fast. Garmin has introduced a new dash cam that offers forward collision warnings and records what's going on in front of you. That can come in handy if you get into an accident (well, if it's not your fault, anyway) or see a giant meteor smash into the earth.

The Garmin Dash Cam 35 is a $200, GPS-enabled high-def camera that suction-cups to your windshield and records everything that goes on while you're driving. It also uses that camera to figure out if you're driving too close to the car in front of you, flashing the screen and beeping if you do. Just like that fancy new Volvo your neighbor has—assuming it can see the road. Stuff like rain or snow, or glare from the sun can keep the feature from working. It also can only see cars and trucks, not motorcycles, bicycles or pedestrians.

Many people follow too closely to the car in front of them, and it's a common cause of accidents. The NTSB says forward collision warning systems can "significantly reduce the frequency and severity of rear-end crashes," though it goes on to say that the systems are most effective when paired with auto-braking technologies that would be tough to work into a dash cam. Still, for 200 bucks anyone can install a collision warning system in their car—a good deal.

Don't forget it's a camera, too. In the event of an accident, a built-in g-sensor will tell the unit to save a recording of the incident, including data on the latitude, longitude, date, time, current speed, and direction of travel. That's great if you weren't at fault, but if you screwed up that recording could land you in court. Just something to be aware of.

At $200, the Dash Cam 35 isn't cheap but unlike some other dash cams, this one comes with a warranty and you can get it from Best Buy or Walmart—and it might save you from a crash, which would probably cost you a lot more than two Franklins. And for $400, there's a dash-cam/collision warning device that has a nav system built-in, too. You know, if you don't have a smartphone that does that sort of thing.