Lincoln's VisioBlade window-cleaning system is designed to increase safety by preventing ice from forming underneath a vehicle's rubber windshield wiper blades.

That's a technological step forward for an ever-present cold-weather problem. Some vehicles in the past have offered systems that sprayed heated washer fluid on the windshield to quickly clear iced-over glass. Those didn't catch on.

On the Lincoln Aviator SUV with the Elements Package Plus option, VisioBlade takes a new swipe at clearing off the ice and snow with two changes.

First, the blades themselves are heated, which prevents ice from forming under the rubber strips. Lincoln says its blades can reach 86 degrees in about four minutes. Some vehicles need as much as 15 minutes to use hot air blown at the inside of the windshield from the vehicle's HVAC system to defrost the glass.

Second, the design improves the application of washer fluid.

Most vehicles place their windshield washer nozzles at the base of the windshield and use a high-pressure pump to squirt the fluid onto the glass. But when driving at highway speeds, much of that fluid is blown away before it reaches the windshield. The VisioBlade system puts its nozzles directly onto the wiper arms, very close to the glass.