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Tricked-Out Cars Trickling Down

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the telematics-for-the-masses dept.

Good sends us to an IBTimes article on the expanding trend for more options for electronic gadgetry — telematics — in cars. Manufacturers are including more high-tech options in more models, including low-end models, as component prices drop and as the car makers attempt to sell to a demographic that has grown up surrounded by personal electronics. According to a telematics analyst, Bluetooth hands-free modules for cell phones will be available on more than a third of car models sold in the US in 2007, and auxiliary jacks for iPods in nearly half. From the article: "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... 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."

4 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. Just what we need by spun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    More gadgets distracting people as they drive.

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    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  2. The other good old days by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Remember when people designed cards for driving? All this in-car entertainment etc cannot be really contributing to good driving.

    As for voice commanded anything, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkeC7HpsHxo . I've worked with vehicle electronics for quite a while, any wonder that I drive a 1980s car with manual everything?

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    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  3. "Tricked Out" BAH! by iminplaya · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's all rice boy stuff. Where are the Holleys, the Edelbrocks, the Hooker headers, the Koni shocks, the glass packs, the high compression engines??? That's what makes a tricked out car, not decals and cell phones, and home theater(in the car??? Sheez). Just give me one that will do the driving for me.

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    What?
  4. The electronics I really want by Bryansix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I want auto manufactures to include a device to actually read the information stored in the Engine Management computer and allow you to download it an analyze it on your home computer. I mean it really sucks that all cars contain an OBD-II connector but don't come with a way to use it. Why should I have to spend almost $200 for a device like this when it could just be included with the car and almost no cost to the manufacturer?