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Families used to entertain themselves on long car trips by playing 20 Questions or the license plate game. Today, though, they have other options.
In-car infotainment has become an in-demand item for a growing number of drivers and passengers. And motorists and their passengers aren’t turning to DVD players, high-tech audio systems and in-car computers only for cross-country trips. They’re firing up the infotainment systems even on late-night ice cream runs to the convenience store.
So far, North American motorists have exhibited the highest demand for auto entertainment systems, with Europe a close second. That was in 2008, though. Auto industry analysts are predicting that this will soon change, and that European motorists will lead the way in auto entertainment system spending by 2016.
One thing is certain: It’ll take a lot of spending to become the biggest spender in the auto entertainment industry. This high-tech industry is only in its infancy now. But already it’s a $29.5 billion business.
The future, though, looks especially bright for the manufacturers and distributors in this business. So far, 4 million vehicles have built-in access to the Internet. Data company iSuppli, though, estimates that this number will shoot to 62 million by 2016. If that number is right, it represents some pretty amazing growth.
Of course, this progress does come with a cost: more driving accidents and fatalities.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that about 6,000 motorists were killed and 500,000 injured thanks to distracted driving in 2008. According to a New York Times story, the manufacturers of auto-based entertainment systems and devices have not responded particularly strongly to such eye-opening numbers. These companies have concentrated on creating hands-free devices, but they’ve done little to address the main issue of distracted driving, mainly that the items they produce cause drives to lose their focus on the road and other motorists.
There are three main forms of distracted driving: Drivers take their eyes off the road, remove their hands from the steering wheel or let their mind wander while driving. All of these forms of distracted driving could prove fatal.
That said, it’s difficult not to get excited about the high-tech gadgets that manufacturers are already building into select cars.
For instance, Ford has the Sync, a car-based computer that runs a rough version of Windows and allows motorists to access the Internet from inside their vehicles. It also includes a hands-free phone, hands-free text messaging system and universal music player.
GM has its Smart Audio system, a sound system with an incredible 40-gigabyte hard drive. In addition to playing music, the Smart Audio system allows passengers and drivers to access video maps and driving instructions.
The MyGig system from Chrysler is impressive, too. It boasts a sound system with a 20-gigabyte hard drive. Passengers and drivers can access music from their iPods or from their online music library.
