Too bad you still have to actually steer the thing

It’s the kind of state-of-the-art feature that previously would have been found in higher-end vehicles. But to remain competitive today, carmakers have to cater to the creature comforts of the digital era.

“As we get more electronics in our lives, from cell phones to portable music, how we bring that into our cars is important to a lot of people,” said Said Deep, a spokesman for Ford Motor Co. “And the buyer we’re focusing on is the younger buyer who is used to this lifestyle already.”

Telematics Research Group analyst Phil Magney estimates that Bluetooth handsfree systems will be available in 37 percent of 2007 models, up from 28 percent last year; voice-recognition controls will rise to 59 percent from 39 percent; and iPod-integration will jump to 47 percent from 12 percent.

Offerings for built-in rearview cameras will double to 18 percent in 2007, while ultrasonic parking assistance, which signals with beeping noises the proximity to an object behind the car, will grow to 45 percent, up from 38 percent. In-dash navigation systems will be available in 69 percent of the car models in 2007, up from 60 percent the previous year, according to the research firm.

One of the industry’s more advanced systems will be Ford’s Sync, which connects digital music players to the car’s voice-control communications system and reads aloud cell-phone text messages and has 20 preset text-message responses.

Unlike some handsfree setups, Sync will allow users to continue a cell phone conversation when they enter the car, automatically switching to handsfree mode without the need to hang up. The flash memory-based system, controlled through voice commands and buttons on the steering wheel, is based on a Microsoft Corp. operating system for cars.

Sync will be available later this year in a dozen 2008 models, including the Ford Focus, the Mercury Milan and the Lincoln MKX. The price has not yet been set, but company officials have said it will cost less than $1,000.

It’s Ford’s answer to General Motors’ OnStar system and DaimlerChrysler AG’s MyGIG in the increasingly competitive race for cabin electronics.

Although navigation systems are a godsend to the easily confused, other features take some getting used to — and some safety officials are concerned about the proliferation of dashboard gadgetry. Transport Canada — a division of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, which governs highway safety issues — conducted a two-year study and in 2005 warned that telematics “can increase driver distraction and cause an increase in distraction-related crashes.”

Priest, who bought his Acura in December, still hasn’t figured out all the voice commands, including how to switch from radio to auxiliary audio, which controls his iPod. The rear video has been extremely helpful for parking, but he recently realized peripheral vision was limited when he used it to back out of a friend’s narrow driveway. He nicked a mailbox.

Also, the feature to synchronize his phone contacts to the handsfree calling system so he would only need to say, “call John,” doesn’t work with his Cingular phone. He plans to switch to a compatible Verizon phone.

Still, Priest said, his geared-up Acura is a far cry from the 1995 Ford Thunderbird he used to drive.

“It had power seats,” he said, “and that was about it.”

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