sales of technology within cars and trucks are expected to top $9.3 billion in 2009 according to this article in Detroit Free Press

most modern cars already have several computers that control everything from engine idle speed to keeping the cd player from skipping. but compared with the advances in home and office technology, automotive technology lags far behind. some standards even date back to the 1950s and '60s. In the auto industry, designing a new vehicle now takes anywhere from 18 to 36 months.

the tech industry's product cycle is much shorter, with some computer components obsolete in 18 months. the hi-tech industry could have easily overcome that and come out with products to keep pace with the latest technology, but, there are no basic set of standards for how hi-tech devices would plug into a vehicle. until now that is.

today a consortium of automakers announced plans to develop world industry standards for multimedia-vehicle electrical systems. standardization is intended to make it easy to plug in electronic devices, including cellular phones, portable computers and navigational aides. the automotive multimedia interface consortium is composed of bmw, daimler benz, fiat, ford, gm, honda, mitsubishi, nissan, peugeot citroen, renault, toyota, volkswagen. eventually, all of the world's automakers are expected to join. automotive suppliers could then build a variety of electronic devices, all with universal plugs designed to fit the standardized vehicle wiring.

commuters are spending more time behind the wheel. u.s. consumers spend about 10 percent of their waking hours driving or riding in their vehicles. auto makers desperate for new sources of income are seeing this as the next point of focus. today, fewer than a million people access the Net from their vehicles.

while converging technology would give consumers new productivity, safety and entertainment, there is also the ever increasing danger of driver distraction making it unsafe on the roads. the national highway traffic safety administration has estimated that driver distraction is involved in 25 percent of the 6 million vehicle crashes reported each year. on the other hand, surveys show customers want devices in their vehicles to get help when needed, find directions around a new place and provide them with other information they can use while on the roads.

this interest jives well with the recent advances in technology from the bluetooth consortium such as the protocol for cellphones and other wireless devices that enables communication via radio waves for up to 10 metres. over 1,200 companies across a range of industries are now looking for ways to implement this radio frequency connectivity technology to secure easy, quick and reliable short-range connections between devices.