There was a time not too long ago when a car buyer's
choices were limited to engines, transmissions and cloth or leather
on the seats. When it came to electronics, the decision was ultra
simple: AM or AM-FM.
Now we live in a technologically advanced world and
what comes wrapped in the body of a new car is far more complex,
making it necessary for buyers to understand a lot more before they
go shopping.
The first word a shopper is going to have to come
to grips with in 2005 is "telematics.'' That's the term for
just about anything that links wireless technology to the operation
of an automobile.
In one sense, the old AM radio was a telematic option
on cars long before the term was coined -- news, sports and music
were sent wirelessly to your car, which translated it to audio signals.
Satnav a giant step
Much more recently, the introduction of satellite navigation to
cars was a giant step forward in telematics.
Using an antenna, a car can determine its position
on the planet by picking up signals from the dozens of navigation
satellites orbiting the Earth that originally were launched for
military use and commercial flight and ocean navigation.
Cars take those signals and plot them on a screen
that uses on-board DVD-based maps to show what road you're on
-- accurate on most new cars within about 20 feet.
Once an option on only high-end luxury cars -- though
General Motors' now-defunct Oldsmobile division pioneered the
technology -- satellite navigation is becoming widely available,
though the option cost of $1,100 to more than $2,000 still makes
it a premium feature.
For 2005, the Acura RL sedan becomes the first U.S.
market car to take navigation telematics to the next level by
integrating traffic information to help guide drivers around jams.
Using a traffic information system offered by XM Satellite Radio
-- itself a new form of telematics -- the RL processes the data
and displays it on its standard eight-inch satellite navigation
screen.
Freeways are shown in three colors -- blue for traffic
moving at more than 52 miles per hour, orange for 27 to 52 mph
and red for less than 27 mph. Icons also warn of accidents, road
construction or harsh weather, and the information is updated
every five minutes.
Need more info? Place the RL's satnav screen's cursor
over an icon and the screen displays more details about the incident.
Press a button in the RL and you get a spoken explanation, which
means you don't have to take your eyes off the road.
Acura provides the XM service with its optional
Nav/Traffic system -- available for now in 20 major U.S. metro
areas -- for free in the first year of RL ownership. After that,
the XM subscription is $9.95 a month plus $3.99 for Nav/Traffic.
Although the $50,000 RL is currently the only car
with this system, expect it to become quickly available from other
manufacturers, especially since General Motors -- like Acura's
parent company Honda and a few other companies -- is an XM partner.
Bluetooth breakthrough
Bluetooth is another word car shoppers may encounter this year.
It's the name of a communication protocol that allows your new
car to link up with your cell phone or even your laptop.
Basically, Bluetooth uses a very low power radio
transmitter and receiver to interact with any device putting out
a similar signal within about 30 feet. At a cost of about $300,
some new cars -- Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Land Rover, Lexus,
Mini and Saab among them -- can link up with your Bluetooth-enabled
cell phone the instant you get in the car. That allows you to
make and receive phone calls hands free through the car's system
without ever having to take the phone from your pocket.
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-- Posted: Feb. 15, 2005
