HIGH-TECH ROAD SHOW

Alexandra Berzon, Las Vegas Sun

Monday, Dec. 24, 2007 | 6:54 a.m.

There was a time when car buyers factored in price, safety, reliability, fuel economy and comfort.

Now they're also talking about connectivity and entertainment and items such as subwoofers, Bluetooth integration and Internet navigation systems and multiple video screens.

Those features define a new generation of tricked-out cars. And they'll enjoy a newfound status next month at Vegas's annual monument to high-tech wizardry, the Consumer Electronics Show.

That, analysts say, is because the car has emerged as an area of personal entertainment on par with the home. It's becoming a place where everyone (other than the driver, one hopes) can watch his own video, where a voice from the dashboard reads back your phone's text messages, and where the navigation system becomes a live and constantly updated traffic report. And this year, people involved in the show say, car trickery will be elevated from a CES sideshow to the main tent.

"Car makers are beginning to realize that consumer electronics and gadgets are becoming a factor in selling a car," said Mike Ippoliti, an analyst with ABI Research. "The old story used to be that nobody is not going to buy a car just because they don't like the radio, and now that might happen. If they can't get their iPod or their phone to connect to their car, they might say, 'to heck with it' and go to another car where they can."

This year's show will feature the first CES keynote speech by a car executive - General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner. He'll tell attendees they should look beyond all the flashy accessories at the show and start to view the car itself as the ultimate high-tech consumer electronic.

GM is going to show off its most advanced concept cars - including the Equinox Fuel Cell, a reconfigured Chevy Tahoe that drives itself, and the Chevy Volt, which runs for 40 miles on an electric engine before kicking in other fuels.

"I find it fascinating that the chairman of the world's largest auto company is choosing to keynote the world's largest electronics show, because what's happening is those two industries are bumping into one another," said Scott Fosgard, GM's head of advanced technology communications. "I think there's a lot of potential beyond which gadget I can put in my car."

But moving the conversation away from all the gee-whiz car gadgets showcased in a 250,000-square-foot section of the convention center's North Hall, toward a more sophisticated view of car technology, is going to take a little yanking. Past attendees say the car gadget section of the conference tends to be among the most bizarre and attention-getting, as each showcaser tries to outdo the next.

"This is where you go to see cars that would probably kill you if you drove them," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. "You'll see cars with flat screens everywhere - including on the wheel."

Enderle says as car companies such as GM try to rebrand themselves as more Silicon Valley than Rust Belt, they're also adapting to consumer electronics demands, which often change every six months compared with the three years it takes for an automaker to develop a new car.

The solution, Enderle and other analysts say, may have been found last year when the CEOs of Ford and Microsoft simultaneously debuted their Ford Sync system at the Detroit Auto Show and CES. Ford Sync, which started showing up this year in Ford's 2008 models, features a Microsoft operating system that lets users sync their phones, iPods or other portable devices with their car stereo to play music or text messages on voice commands. That's supposed to make electronics safer to use in the car. It can also adapt as devices change with each fad.

Analysts expect more syncing announcements from auto and technology companies at this year's show.

"It's something all carmakers are trying to figure out - how to let people bring all those portable devices into the car and still be able to drive safely," said Paul Hansen, who publishes the Hansen Report on Automotive Electronics.

Another expected CES highlight is in more advanced navigation systems, which went mainstream this year. ABI has estimated that the sales of navigation systems will grow 48 percent per year over the next five years, from 11 million units to nearly 79 million. That means that nearly every new car will have one - eliminating the adventure of getting lost.

This year's conference is expected to highlight a future that moves navigation beyond a box filled with prepackaged digital maps and directions and to a connected portal that is constantly updated via cellular networks or Wi-Fi, or through cell phones.

The car electronic company Clarion, for example, is set to announce a navigation and entertainment system that connects to the Internet. And Sunnyvale, Calif.,-based startup Dash Navigation plans to show off a device, on sale in February, that lets users automatically and anonymously send and receive traffic information, and search Yahoo's local listings when they're on the lookout for something nearby.

"There's a strong belief that the car is moving into becoming the fourth screen, after the PC, TV and phone," said Dash spokeswoman Gina Bender. "CES really sets the tone and the buzz for the rest of the year, so we thought being there was very important."