spaminator
01-10-2006, 02:13 AM
What Makes Them Tech
It used to be you could play a car racing contest on your favourite video game system.
But now on at least one new model of automobile, the car actually is the video game.
In an effort to spur sales, manufacturers have begun spicing up their models to include everything from high definition TVs to surround sound systems.
But for sheer innovation, nothing beats Nissan’s new Urge concept car (top left).
The vehicle, which was previewed at the Detroit Auto Show, works like any normal model – until you put it in park.
That’s when the steering wheel and the pedals become de facto ‘video game controllers’, allowing drivers to flip down a screen secreted in the mirror and play Xbox-like games hidden in the dashboard.
"The ability to park the car and activate the game system adds another dimension of entertainment beyond the pure driving pleasure of the Urge," explains Nissan's Bruce Campbell. "Like its drivers, this vehicle is able to switch between the real world and video world whenever the 'Urge' strikes."
The sports car is one of many that’s trying to induce an increasingly younger crowd to worry more about hard drives than driving hard.
Manufacturers are finding it more difficult to differentiate their vehicles to all the important youth demographic in a crowded marketplace.
So while gas mileage, handling and safety are all important, many are now stressing all the other extras that are installed inside.
Toyota’s Scion xB Release not only has an exotic name, it comes with an iPod dock right next to the driver controls and screens in both headrests. It sells for about $17,000 U.S.
The G.M. Buick Terraza minivan sports a 40 gig hard drive that stores music, games and video, along with a sound system that lets everyone inside access all three at once without interfering with each other.
Another G.M. version of the Explorer is being sold as a “rolling living room” with everything from a 26” high definition set in its raised roof and a video game system inside to satellite TV reception. Your price for all these extras: $52,000.
Also coming: updated navigation systems, MP3 access and just about anything high tech.
“That trend is definitely growing,” agrees J.D. Power's Larry Wu. “Satellite radio has really taken off the last 18 months, and will probably see an even bigger jump in 2006.”
And get ready for more bells and whistles. "A lot of the value that car makers put in their vehicles is in electronics," notes analyst Paul Grimme.
So it now appears the days of simply buying a car for the way it drives are over, as manufacturers concentrate just as much on generating smiles as covering miles.
January 9, 2006
:cool:
It used to be you could play a car racing contest on your favourite video game system.
But now on at least one new model of automobile, the car actually is the video game.
In an effort to spur sales, manufacturers have begun spicing up their models to include everything from high definition TVs to surround sound systems.
But for sheer innovation, nothing beats Nissan’s new Urge concept car (top left).
The vehicle, which was previewed at the Detroit Auto Show, works like any normal model – until you put it in park.
That’s when the steering wheel and the pedals become de facto ‘video game controllers’, allowing drivers to flip down a screen secreted in the mirror and play Xbox-like games hidden in the dashboard.
"The ability to park the car and activate the game system adds another dimension of entertainment beyond the pure driving pleasure of the Urge," explains Nissan's Bruce Campbell. "Like its drivers, this vehicle is able to switch between the real world and video world whenever the 'Urge' strikes."
The sports car is one of many that’s trying to induce an increasingly younger crowd to worry more about hard drives than driving hard.
Manufacturers are finding it more difficult to differentiate their vehicles to all the important youth demographic in a crowded marketplace.
So while gas mileage, handling and safety are all important, many are now stressing all the other extras that are installed inside.
Toyota’s Scion xB Release not only has an exotic name, it comes with an iPod dock right next to the driver controls and screens in both headrests. It sells for about $17,000 U.S.
The G.M. Buick Terraza minivan sports a 40 gig hard drive that stores music, games and video, along with a sound system that lets everyone inside access all three at once without interfering with each other.
Another G.M. version of the Explorer is being sold as a “rolling living room” with everything from a 26” high definition set in its raised roof and a video game system inside to satellite TV reception. Your price for all these extras: $52,000.
Also coming: updated navigation systems, MP3 access and just about anything high tech.
“That trend is definitely growing,” agrees J.D. Power's Larry Wu. “Satellite radio has really taken off the last 18 months, and will probably see an even bigger jump in 2006.”
And get ready for more bells and whistles. "A lot of the value that car makers put in their vehicles is in electronics," notes analyst Paul Grimme.
So it now appears the days of simply buying a car for the way it drives are over, as manufacturers concentrate just as much on generating smiles as covering miles.
January 9, 2006
:cool: