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SMART CARS 2000

Where can you find the world's most reliable and easiest-to-use computers? Try your local car or truck dealer.

That's no joke. Today's new vehicles carry as much--and sometimes more--computing power as a high-speed desktop PC. The big difference: Car computers run so well you don't have to worry about system freeze-ups, inexplicable software crashes, or annoying reboots.

Car computers don't need much coddling. Tucked under the hood and behind the dash, they soldier on for years through extreme temperature, vibration, and humidity.

Every modern car has at least one computer on board to operate the engine, regulate fuel consumption, and control exhaust emissions. Most have several, and the fanciest cars may carry more than a dozen on-board processors. Car computers often operate independently, but some swap data among themselves--a growing trend.

What are those devices doing? They work the radio, decide when your transmission should shift gears, remember your seat position, and adjust the temperature in the passenger cabin. They can make the suspension work better, help you see in the dark, warn when a tire goes flat, and summon aid automatically if you're in a serious accident.

Some car computers swing into action at the push of a button. Others respond to your spoken commands. Many work silently and automatically behind the scenes, getting all their marching orders from onboard sensors.

Back At The Shop

Not all automotive computing power ends up on wheels, of course. Much of it gets used back at the shop. That's where car companies and their legions of suppliers tap increasingly powerful computers to design and thoroughly test car parts and even entire vehicles before they're actually built. The result: better engineering, higher quality, greater safety, and cleaner-running cars.

Computers also are a growing part of sales, service, and repair. That includes the Internet, a resource you can use to research your next purchase and, starting this fall, even order your vehicle.

Quality Redefined

Every new model year brings innovations. But the pace seems to be accelerating lately. Some industry experts think it's because features are replacing quality as a primary driver in the purchase decision.

That's not to say consumers are willing to settle for shoddy cars and trucks. But their idea of what quality means may have more to do with how the heater controls feel than the size of the gap between a door and fender. These days, quality means whatever car buyers think it means.

Besides, just about all cars are better-built today. Measures such as J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study confirm it. The influential Power survey, which asks owners about flaws--anything from a malfunctioning transmission to a pesky squeak--in their vehicles, says new cars now average less than one defect each.     

With quality differences so small, it's no wonder consumers base their choices on other things.