We don't think there is anyone in this great country of ours -- male or female -- who doesn't like the tech gadgets (or gizmos) that keep showing up in aftermarket stores or in the new cars. Especially the luxury cars.
And the automakers know it! Man, do they know it! And they are falling all over each other to pack their new cars with as many gadgets (or gizmos) as they can. There are safety gizmos, security gizmos, navigation gizmos, entertainment gizmos and even infotainment gizmos. According to the Associated Press (via mLive), analysts predict that more than half of all the new vehicles produced in the next seven years will have technologies that will connect them to "the outside world".
General Motors offers Onstar while BMW kowtows to its segment with Assist. Ford will be introducing a technology tie-in with Microsoft called Sync. The new technology, which is supposed to be introduced this fall on the Ford Focus and on 11 other models during the 2008 model year, uses voice recognition and steering wheel controls to allow the driver to control and listen to music coming from an iPod or other digital music player and to hear text messages on their cell phone read to them.
But Sync can do more, much more. The technology could permit the vehicle to receive software "fixes" through wireless downloads or provide electronic manuals that allow the car's owner to literally "ask" their vehicle questions about performance or maintenance. Parents will be able to track the family car when it is driven by their child and the system will alert the parents via text message if the car leaves an area or is driven more than a certain speed. To upgrade the system all you will need is to update the software.
Sync also offers other features, but they are not technically telematics features because Sync does not use two-way communication.
According to reports, the U.S. market for gadgets in the car is expected to grow from $3.5 billion now to between $12 billion and $16 billion by 2012-2014.
