New Car Technology And Electronics: Necessity, Luxury Or Headache?
By 2010, electronic components will make up 40% of the value of the vehicle, says a study by Automotive News. That means that new car technology will increasingly depend on computer chips and advanced technology components to operate. Is this complexity a need of drivers, a luxury or a headache?
A recent Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) study takes a look at what consumers have in their car and what they want. According to the survey, digital audio alternatives, fuel economy, safety and navigation features are the most sought after new automotive technologies.
The investigation also found that 25% of drivers own an MP3 player for their car. Other popular technologies are:
- Keyless entry (55%)
- Alarm systems (48%)
- Component speakers (34%)
- DVD players (32%)
As far as what people want, CEA found that consumers would like to see improved safety, navigation aids and access to more content in their vehicles. However, the most desired products are satellite radio and Internet access.
Of course, being able to surf the word wide web and public streets at the same time would require more computers and buttons, which may also complicate things for some drivers. A New York Times review of the 2007 Mercedez-Benz S-Class points out that too many buttons, controls and blinking lights already make it almost impossible for the common driver to understand the system, even after reading the 700-page owner’s manual.
Toyota seems to understand this problem and is trying to simplify the complexity of its electronic components by reducing control units from 60 to 4. According to Automotive Magazine, these computers would control power train, safety devices, body and multimedia.
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