In-Car Electronics Enter the Space Age, but Most Drivers Are Still Cavemen
Here's one of those elephants in the room not enough people are talking about: There's a huge three-way disconnect among the auto industry, consumer electronics, and consumers.
Consumer awareness lags way behind what the latest so-called in-car "telematics" gadgets are capable of doing. The newest systems now available can, for instance, convert voice to text messages; create your own custom-made Internet radio station; or reserve a table for two from your car, hands-free. Automakers are hot to push these systems as selling points for their vehicles.
Outside of an enthusiastic fringe, though, consumer awareness of telematics is back in the rub-two-sticks-together Stone Age. According to a recent study by Morpace Inc., consumer awareness on average begins and ends with the fact that telematics systems can navigate, and also automatically notify rescuers if you have an accident. The General Motors (GM) OnStar system is a good example.
What can go wrong
This disconnect raises a range of problems. On the serious side, as in deadly serious, there's distracted driving. Systems like Ford Sync are designed to be used hands-free, precisely to avoid distracted driving. However, even with no hands, they can be complicated to use when you're first learning. At the same time, they're getting more capable, and potentially more complicated, all the time.
This state of affairs is waving a red flag in front of federal regulators, who are already contemplating rules to combat distracted driving. Texting while driving is only one of a long and growing list of potential distractions.
On the merely financial side, it's also an obvious problem if the auto industry churns out gadgets that few people understand and even fewer people want to pay extra for.
Rivalries heating up
Not only that, telematics systems have been around long enough to generate competition. In addition to Ford Sync and GM's OnStar system, now Toyota is starting to introduce a system of its own, called Entune. Toyota displayed Entune at the recent 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. Its claim to fame is that it exploits in-car internet connectivity to a greater extent that its two main competitors, which are older.
From the user point of view, that means the Toyota system "recognizes" a lot more words, so you can speak to it more naturally, according to Jim Pisz, Toyota corporate manager, advanced technology department. For now, Ford says it has sold more than 3 million units of the Ford Sync system. Ford also says around 80 percent of the people who buy Ford Sync use it, and that most people who use it say they would recommend it to friends.
Maybe so, but even on the face of it, that means at least 20 percent of the people who have it don't use it. At least some of those people must realize that Ford Sync added to the cost of the car, even if it came standard.
The upshot for the car companies is that down the road, telematics will join a long list of high-tech features like air bags and anti-lock brakes that wowed people and commanded a price premium when they were new, but have since become a commodity today that nearly everyone takes for granted. There's a penalty if you don't have them, but not much reward if you do, even though today's air bags and anti-lock brakes are far more capable than earlier generations.
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Photo: GM Heritage Center