The Future of Technology in Cars Essay -- Automotive Technology Resear

The Future of Technology in Cars â€Å"Need to check traffic conditions? Or your email? You can visit the Internet from the driver’s seat of your car. Lost? Onstar will guide you to your destination. Tired? Hungry ? OnStar’s concierge service will handle hotel and restaurant reservations. Stranded? OnStar will contact the nearest tow truck service and send help to any location. Important phone call to make? Just call out the number and you’re connected, all at your fingertips twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year.† These are just a few of the many advantages of having OnStar in your automobile. General Motors first introduced OnStar in the Northstar Cadillac’s in 1996, and now it is available to most cars. â€Å"OnStar is based on cellular telephone and global positioning system (GPS) technologies, and, although it has na vigation capabilities, it is far more than an onboard navigation system.† This means it is like a personal valet, but only a phone call away. OnStar has a protected security also, as you press the OnStar button the human operator on the other end asks for your personal password, once this is verified all services are available to you. OnStar provides human operators, all the time, not computers to help you. Once your password is verified the caller’s identification and location appears on the operator’s screen. Depending on your question the operator has a list of restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and basically anything in the area that you are calling from. OnStar is more than just a navigation system; because of the computer-activated system the OnStar operator can remotely unlock your car, or beep the horn. All the owner has to do is call from a payphone or cel... ...01). Telematics at a Glance. Retrieved September 25, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.findarticles.com/m3012/11_179/58038337/pl/article.jhtml Thorton, Emily. (2001). Digital Wheels: International Edition. Retrieved November 5, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_15/b3676012.htm?scriptFram USA Today (2000). Wired Cars Coming Of Age. Retrieved September 24, 2001 from The World Wide Web: http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/crh383.htm The Ultimate Vehicle Security System. (2001). Retrieved September 18, 2001 from the World Wide Wed: http://www.powerlock.com/plfront.htm U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1999). Air Bags and On-Off Switches. Retrieved on September 25, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/airbags/brochure.com