The Patent detailing the design of this camera is attached.
The automotive deployment Patent US5763882 of 1998 is a duplicate in many areas but describes a 'low cost night vision camera'
http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US5763882It should be noted that the term 'low cost' was relative to the industrial thermal cameras of that era costing more the $40K. These cameras were not a cheap option from Cadillac, that is for sure.
The Cadillac DeVille cameras are still popular and to be found on ebay. They range in price depending upon condition but expect to pay between $150 and $500. Their popularity stems from their rugged construction and ease with which they may be deployed on a vehicle for navigation in the dark and hunting. You just feed the camera with 12V DC and it produces NTSC composite video. No adjustments or commands, it is fully automatic and simplicity itself. People on You Tube have shown these being used in Pan Tilt Lamp housings an bolted behind the grille of their cars. They cost less than the Audi and BMW Autoliv FLIR cameras and, unlike those nightmarish units, the Raytheon is easy to deploy without any hacking needed.
Note that many of the cameras on the market are circa 2000/2001, will have broken lens protectors and split chopper wheel membranes. As such these should be dismantled, cleaned and serviced if you want the best out of them. Many You Tube videos using these cameras show signs of a poorly camera in need of some TLC.
As a point of interest, these Raytheon BST sensors and electronics design are used in EEV(E2V) ARGUS 2 and ISG Talisman firefighting thermal cameras.
Fraser