Forget about the powerful 3.5-liter V-6, 28 kW, 306 HP SAE @ 6,400 rpm; 277 ft lb, 376 Nm @ 4,800 rpm and whathaveyou numbers under the hood. Or the spiffy wheels and rims. Or the clean and green emission parts. Customers are now more inclined to go oooohh-ing and aaahh-ing over a car’s heated cup holders, in-dash voice-command system and other technological gizmos.
This is what people now get excited about: dashboard electronics – also called “telematics” – which include technological perks like heated cup holders, air-conditioned glove compartments, rear-facing cameras, voice-activated navigation systems and keys that automatically unlock your car as soon as you're within three feet of it. What’s more, “pimping” your ride no longer requires one to be a celebrity, or an heir to some big time business. Telematics is now being made available in even modestly priced vehicles. Automakers like General Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Corp. have offered the technology into low-end models, delivering some of the gadgetry previously available only through aftermarket installers.
Take the auxiliary jacks for portable music players and Bluetooth wireless for handsfree cell phone calls, as well as gizmos like 10-speaker, 360-degree surround-sound stereos with active noise cancellation in DVD-A and CD formats. These are now often factory-installed standards. And how about the beloved can’t do without IPods? Oh well, IPod integration kits are now within reach for $150 to $200 extra and allows drivers to control the portable player from steering wheel buttons while keeping the gadget hidden in a glove box or center console. Very nice huh?
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, U.S. factory-to-dealer sales of in-vehicle technologies are estimated to grow to $9.6 billion in 2007 from $8.5 billion in 2006.
Telematics Research Group analyst Phil Magney also estimates that Bluetooth handsfree systems will be available in 37 percent of 2007 models, up from 28 percent last year; voice-recognition controls will rise to 59 percent from 39 percent; and iPod-integration will jump to 47 percent from 12 percent.
Offerings for built-in rearview cameras will double to 18 percent in 2007, while ultrasonic parking assistance, which signals with beeping noises the proximity to an object behind the car, will grow to 45 percent, up from 38 percent. In-dash navigation systems will be available in 69 percent of the car models in 2007, up from 60 percent the previous year, according to the research firm.
One of the industry's more advanced systems will be Ford's Sync, which connects digital music players to the car's voice-control communications system and reads aloud cell-phone text messages and has 20 preset text-message responses.
So what new tech perks can we look forward to in the near future?
One is Ford's Sync, reportedly the industry’s more advanced systems. Sync connects digital music players to the car's voice-control communications system and reads aloud cell-phone text messages and has 20 preset text-message responses. To be made available later this year in a dozen 2008 models (including the Ford Focus, the Mercury Milan and the Lincoln MKX) Sync will allow users to continue a cell phone conversation when they enter the car, automatically switching to handsfree mode without the need to hang up. The flash memory-based system, controlled through voice commands and buttons on the steering wheel, is based on a Microsoft Corp. operating system for cars. The price? Less than $1,000, if Ford officials are to be believed.
On the other hand, Sebring models will reportedly soon also offer an "infotainment" voice-activated navigation system that has a 20-gigabyte hard drive and a USB port for downloading and storing directions, maps, music, photos, and other digital data, including voice memos. If the car is parked, you could also use it as a DVD player. The price tag: an extra $1,700. Note that Chrysler's 2007 Sebring already offers a cup holder that can either keep drinks cold or warm, as well as a key-chain ignition -- a feature that's allows you to start your vehicle from inside one's home (very useful especially in those cold, cold mornings).
This is what people now get excited about: dashboard electronics – also called “telematics” – which include technological perks like heated cup holders, air-conditioned glove compartments, rear-facing cameras, voice-activated navigation systems and keys that automatically unlock your car as soon as you're within three feet of it. What’s more, “pimping” your ride no longer requires one to be a celebrity, or an heir to some big time business. Telematics is now being made available in even modestly priced vehicles. Automakers like General Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Corp. have offered the technology into low-end models, delivering some of the gadgetry previously available only through aftermarket installers.
Take the auxiliary jacks for portable music players and Bluetooth wireless for handsfree cell phone calls, as well as gizmos like 10-speaker, 360-degree surround-sound stereos with active noise cancellation in DVD-A and CD formats. These are now often factory-installed standards. And how about the beloved can’t do without IPods? Oh well, IPod integration kits are now within reach for $150 to $200 extra and allows drivers to control the portable player from steering wheel buttons while keeping the gadget hidden in a glove box or center console. Very nice huh?
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, U.S. factory-to-dealer sales of in-vehicle technologies are estimated to grow to $9.6 billion in 2007 from $8.5 billion in 2006.
Telematics Research Group analyst Phil Magney also estimates that Bluetooth handsfree systems will be available in 37 percent of 2007 models, up from 28 percent last year; voice-recognition controls will rise to 59 percent from 39 percent; and iPod-integration will jump to 47 percent from 12 percent.
Offerings for built-in rearview cameras will double to 18 percent in 2007, while ultrasonic parking assistance, which signals with beeping noises the proximity to an object behind the car, will grow to 45 percent, up from 38 percent. In-dash navigation systems will be available in 69 percent of the car models in 2007, up from 60 percent the previous year, according to the research firm.
One of the industry's more advanced systems will be Ford's Sync, which connects digital music players to the car's voice-control communications system and reads aloud cell-phone text messages and has 20 preset text-message responses.
So what new tech perks can we look forward to in the near future?
One is Ford's Sync, reportedly the industry’s more advanced systems. Sync connects digital music players to the car's voice-control communications system and reads aloud cell-phone text messages and has 20 preset text-message responses. To be made available later this year in a dozen 2008 models (including the Ford Focus, the Mercury Milan and the Lincoln MKX) Sync will allow users to continue a cell phone conversation when they enter the car, automatically switching to handsfree mode without the need to hang up. The flash memory-based system, controlled through voice commands and buttons on the steering wheel, is based on a Microsoft Corp. operating system for cars. The price? Less than $1,000, if Ford officials are to be believed.
On the other hand, Sebring models will reportedly soon also offer an "infotainment" voice-activated navigation system that has a 20-gigabyte hard drive and a USB port for downloading and storing directions, maps, music, photos, and other digital data, including voice memos. If the car is parked, you could also use it as a DVD player. The price tag: an extra $1,700. Note that Chrysler's 2007 Sebring already offers a cup holder that can either keep drinks cold or warm, as well as a key-chain ignition -- a feature that's allows you to start your vehicle from inside one's home (very useful especially in those cold, cold mornings).