The same principal could be applied to your laptop. If it were turned on in your car, it would link up to the car's Bluetooth system and provide Internet access through your car's navigation screen. Although several companies, including Mercedes-Benz, have offered Internet access through non-Bluetooth subscription services for a few years, consumer demand has been weak. It's unclear if widespread availability of Bluetooth connectivity in cars will make more buyers want such mobile Internet availability.

Though not yet available in the United States, the next step in Bluetooth automotive technology could have cars speaking to one another as they pass, exchanging information about traffic conditions.

At your service

A more ubiquitous form of telematics available on a wide range of new cars is a concierge service as pioneered by OnStar. Offered by manufacturers under different names, essentially this is a subscription service that will provide directions, find restaurants and hotels, unlock your car if you lose the keys, disable the car if it's stolen, and notify police and medical agencies if it detects a crash serious enough to cause airbags to deploy.

Using a dedicated cell phone built into the car, concierge-service prices such as OnStar start at $199 a year and go up, depending on how many services you want. As a lure, most manufacturers provide at least three months' free service when a vehicle is purchased.

For your entertainment

Also falling under the heading of telematics is a vehicle's entertainment system, and for 2005 the choices have never been greater, ranging from sound systems with AM-FM-CD and MP3 capability to DVD audio and video systems.

What you may not find is a factory-installed system to link up with your iPod. BMW was the only manufacturer to foresee the exploding popularity of the iPod and work with Apple to develop a car audio system that will play tunes off an iPod.

Most electronics shops such as Circuit City and Best Buy can, of course, install equipment to make your iPod and car best buds, but so far the auto makers have been slow to respond.

Out with the old

If you have the collected works of Stephen King on audio book cassettes, the bad news is that the cassette player is on its last loop as a new car feature, replaced by the compact disc, which itself may one day soon be replaced by MP3 and iPod technology.

On the video side, backseat DVDs are so common that there have been some complaints by other drivers about vehicles playing X-rated movies on the freeway. Prices have come down to the point where nearly every SUV and minivan has a video system on the option list.

Next up? The satellite radio services will likely work with manufacturers to provide video on demand to car-based systems.

The explosion in electronic technology on cars has gotten to the point where a car is no longer just a car. Check off enough options and it can become your family room away from home.

A word of caution to the savvy shopper: Buying the newest technology comes with a hefty price. In a few years, as the developmental costs are spread among more and more vehicles, prices will come down.

If you trade cars every three years, it might be advisable to wait on some of these new options. But if you keep a car five years or longer, it's worth considering that when you go to sell that 2005 car, truck, SUV or minivan in 2010, buyers may expect it to have all these bells and whistles because they will be the norm by then.