Broken credit cards and numb fingers from scraping ice off windscreens could soon be a thing of the past. A new system can clear snow and ice from a windscreen in 90 seconds at the press of a button. Called HotShot, it warms the windscreen wiper fluid by passing it through a heating chamber, which works whether the engine is running or not. The device will be offered on Cadillac and Buick models in the US this year and the manufacturer, Microheat of Michigan, is in talks with car makers around the world.