Edmunds.com Cites 10 Top Automotive Technologies of the Decade
By Michelle Krebs December 29, 2009Ten years ago, most people had never heard of many of the technologies that are mainstream today.
"In the '90s, satellite radio and iPods weren't around. Only hard-core computer geeks were tweaking cars to add MP3 capability, and navigation systems were still only available as expensive in-dash systems," remembered Edmunds.com Senior Technology Editor Doug Newcomb. "Bluetooth hands-free phones were still years away and Bose was the best known of only a handful of premium car audio offerings."
As the decade comes to a close, Edmunds.com has identified the following top 10 in-car technologies of the last 10 years.
iPod Integration
We've come a long way from carrying around bulky multi-CD cases. Today drivers can bring along all their favorite music with a device that fits in a pocket and can be integrated with most vehicles.
MP3 File Access
Most stock radios now offer CD players that can read MP3-encoded discs that can store hundreds of tunes, and if a car has a DVD drive then the number of songs that can fit on a disc goes up exponentially. Many cars now offer an aux-in for plugging in an MP3 player, and more vehicles now have a USB port or SD card slot for reading music files on flash media.
Bluetooth
Hands-free laws gave this emerging technology an added boost, and now that wireless music streaming is catching on with carmakers and consumers, Bluetooth is getting even more popular.
Satellite Radio
No one could have believed that radio could sound this good, offer this much variety, be largely commercial-free and not fade in the middle of the nowhere.
High-End Branded Audio Systems
Good-sounding, name-brand OEM audio system from Bose, Infinity, Pioneer and others were available for years, but premium systems from Mark Levinson, Bang & Olufsen, B&W and others set a new benchmark during this decade.
Exterior Cameras
Backup cameras became popular in giant-size SUVs and have since proliferated in a variety of vehicles large and small.
Navigation Systems
In just a few short years after portable nav systems debuted in the early part of the decade, with retail prices in excess of $1,000, they quickly became an inexpensive consumer electronics purchase. Now smartphone nav apps are further democratizing the availability of navigation.
Voice Activation
Until recently, voice activation was more of a gimmick and novelty, but in the past few years voice activation has become more accurate and reliable -- and available on more cars.
Ford Sync
Ford Sync deserves a place on this list for many reasons: for its reliable voice recognition, its affordability, its valuable services such as 911 Assist and Traffic, Directions and Information, and its easy upgradability that renders it seemingly timeless even as the car it is in ages.
Location-Based Services
Location-based services (LBS) help you get local fuel prices, traffic, weather reports, movie show times, sports scores and more, wherever you are.
LEAVE A COMMENT
Nissan's around view monitor system is brilliant and will become standard on many cars in the future. Once you start using it you are quickly hooked.
Funny how the decade's technologies all relate to the driver and passenger experience and comfort, rather than the transportation function or efficiency of the automobile. Sure, the basic function of transportation and motivation has been highly developed over the last century, so it is hard to attribute significant progress to this decade alone.
But fundamental issues of lightweight construction and efficient propulsion still remain to be solved, it is a shame more progress was not evident in the most recent decade.
What about the broadened application of hybrid technology? The Toyota Prius was introduced to the US market in 2000, and since then has impacted R & D spending for all auto manufacturers (except Chrysler, who doesn't have any R & D money).
And the broader availability of hybrid vehicles has transformed a sector of the vehicle landscape, perhaps permanently.
I'm not a proponent of 'peak oil,' nor do I rail against 'Middle East' suppliers. It's common knowledge that Canada and Mexico supply most of the oil refined into gasoline. Still, hybrid technology has moderated the supposedly unquenchable thirst for fossil fuel in North America, and that seems like a 'very good thing,' as Martha Stewart would put it.
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