I just read this article over at the BBC website, and was very interested. Specifically by this part:

The amount of processing power in the average saloon far outweighs that of the Apollo 11 guidance computer that helped put men on the moon.

On average a modern car will have more than 20 separate processing units onboard - each one of which could leave the Apollo computer standing.

This really isn’t something I believed an average family estate could accomplish, and it is quite amazing. You’ll get in your car every morning to drive to work, never thinking that you are handling a piece of equipment more advanced than a space shuttle. It’s hard to believe. Obviously, this article cannot be referring to the hardware technology itself, there is no way that could be more advanced, but more the software controlling the shuttle itself.

It used to be only top of the line models that had all the extras, such as video players, that turned a car ride from a chore into a sojourn in a mobile living room.

And until recently adding such extras to a standard vehicle meant a premium on the drive-away price.

But back-seat entertainment consoles, navigation systems and wireless technologies are going to be offered as standard equipment by almost 75% of the 38 car makers questioned by the US Telematics Research Group (TRG).

I found this interesting as well. BBC haven’t quoted whether the 75% figure they found is based for the UK or the USA. I do not see how it could be for the UK, as far as I know, only one company includes seatback entertainment as standard.

I also don’t understand how car manufacturers can charge so much to, say, install a GPS system in your vehicle. I have heard figures quoted as high as £3000. How on earth can it cost so much? - You could place a state of the art personal computer in the car for that price.

Personally, I look forward to the day when cars are more like they are portrayed in Minority Report. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be packed with gadgets, and controlled by themselves