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SMART CARS 2000

ELECTRONICS - HIGH-FLYING RADIO

Wish there was more variety among your local radio stations? In about a year you'll be able to tune in up to 100 more stations no matter where you drive, many delivered commercial-free and all promising CD-like digital clarity.

It's called digital audio radio service, or DARS. Distributed by satellite, it will be offered as a third radio band to supplement the familiar AM and FM bands.

Commercial-free digital radio, due out next year, will offer dozens of formats, all distributed nationwide by satellites.

You'll have to pay about $10 a month to get DARS programming, which requires a small disc antenna and special decoder. Adapters will enable car owners to pick up DARS with conventional AM/FM radios, and major consumer electronics companies are developing aftermarket replacement radios that can tune in all three bands.

Two Washington, D.C.-area companies--CD Radio and XM Satellite Radio--will begin phasing in DARS as early as late 2000. New-car radios equipped for DARS are due in early 2001. DARS-ready radios will be built to receive programming from either or both DARS providers.

The new service is best-suited for cars and trucks because it requires a clear path between the antenna and broadcast source. DARS signals don't penetrate buildings very well, but household DARS radios with outside antennas are under development.

Will consumers pay for DARS when they can get AM and FM broadcasts free? Promoters are sure of it. They note the same question was asked when cable TV debuted. A study by MITRE Corp., a defense and communications research group, figures satellite radio could end up in 50 million households and 100 million vehicles.

A Helping Hand

If you like being able to get instant safety and security services on the road, it can't get much simpler than OnStar. The three-button system is now available on about 30 General Motors models.

OnStar lets you push a button to summon aid, get travel directions, trouble-shoot engine problems, and much more. You're connected via wireless technology to a real live person at the company's OnStar Center. You speak into an unobtrusive microphone in the passenger compartment and listen through your car's audio system.

The first generation of OnStar included a cellular handset for personal calling that required a separate cellular provider service. Now OnStar is entirely self-contained. It's also cheaper. The hardware costs $695 installed vs. about $1,300 originally, and the monthly service charge is about half what it used to be.

You can use OnStar's safety and security service plan ($199 per year or about $16.60 per month) to:

• Summon roadside service
• Call an ambulance
• Track your vehicle if it's stolen
• Diagnose engine trouble
• Help you make the appropriate on-scene reports if you're involved in a minor fender bender and even conference in your insurance agent if necessary
• Report your authorized personal medical information to the hospital if you're involved in a serious accident
• Unlock your doors if you lock your keys in the car

The premium service plan for $399 per year ($33.25 a month) includes those services plus route support, help finding specific locations such as restaurants or gas stations, concierge service that can get you tickets to such things as sold-out shows or booked-up restaurants, and alternate transportation if you feel you're too ill or incapacitated to drive.

OnStar has been standard equipment in the Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicle introduced earlier this year. For the 2000 model year, it will be factory-installed as standard or part of preferred option groups for several GM models.

GM is developing more such services. It plans to introduce a voice-activated "Web vehicle" in about a year. The company completed its first phase pilot applications of Internet voice connectivity in June.

Meet The 80 mpg Car

The challenge: Develop an environmentally friendly six-passenger sedan that gets 80 miles per gallon. The result: a bevy of unusual-looking prototypes that U.S. automakers just are beginning to unveil now.

Their effort is part of the federally-backed Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Launched in September 1993, the program is an attempt to develop an affordable "supercar" that meets current performance and safety expectations while delivering triple the fuel efficiency of today's midsize cars.

The program calls for "production prototypes" by 2004. Whether those vehicles actually go into production is anyone's guess, but supporters say the effort will accelerate adoption of new automotive technologies.

PNGV participants include General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, hundreds of automotive suppliers, a bevy of federal agencies and laboratories, and the auto industry's own United States Council for Automotive Research in Dearborn, Mich.

The PNGV program delves into virtually all aspects of vehicle design, materials, manufacture, power, and recyclability. Developers have been poking around at new uses of materials, innovative manufacturing techniques, and everything from batteries and hybrid powerplants to flywheels and super-efficient diesels.

GM plans to show off its PNGV entry at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The rear-engine, rear-drive car is a battery-diesel hybrid with an especially slippery shape that helps boost fuel economy.

How Much Luxury?

Buyers who haven't visited the automotive market lately may be surprised to discover how many "luxury" features are becoming routine in mainstream models. The result is the emergence of a class of what industry experts call "near luxury" cars. By the standards of five years ago, they'd qualify as full-fledged luxury cars. These days, they're considered "nicely appointed."

Toyota's Avalon sedan, built in Georgetown, Ky., illustrates the trend. Redesigned for 2000, it is the biggest and most luxurious car Toyota has ever sold in America. But with a price around $30,000, the 210-horsepower four-door also costs significantly less than full-fledged luxury cars from BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz--or Toyota's own Lexus line.

The base Avalon XL includes such standard features as a tilt steering wheel, front and side airbags, dual zone air conditioning, a six-speaker JBL audio system with CD player, and electronic information display showing such things as time and outside temperature. Other luxury car touches include thicker windows and a foam underbody coating, both intended to help block noise from entering the passenger compartment.

The fancier Avalon XLS model comes with all those items plus an auto-dimming rearview mirror, more data in the information display, antitheft system with engine immobilizer, universal garage door opener, and a subwoofer for the audio system. Add-on options include a more sophisticated security system and vehicle skid control system.

Industry trend-watchers say consumers can expect this "option creep" to continue across the entire spectrum of cars. The same thing is happening in trucks, especially vans and sport utility vehicles.

To Shift Or Not To Shift

Automatic transmissions are handy, but some people still like to row their own gears. They can have it both ways with electronically controlled shifters that let you flick a lever to move up and down the gears in sequence. If you're feeling lazy, you still can leave it in "drive."

Once available only in exotic sports cars, these manual/automatic transmissions have spread to many luxury brands. You can find them in more affordable models too: DaimlerChrysler's Autostick transmission has been around since 1996.

Maybe you'd prefer to dump the concept of changing gears entirely. With a continuously variable transmission (CVT), you don't step from one gear to another, even automatically. Instead, power transfers continuously through a steel link belt and pair of adjustable pulleys. Such systems have been on the road in Europe for many years. They'll reach the U.S. market in about five years when GM and Ford start building CVTs for some of their small U.S. cars.

More Power!

Heaping more gadgets into cars puts a big drain on the automobile's decades-old 12-volt operating system. Some engineers think tomorrow's cars will operate on 42 volts.

Luxury cars already consume up to three kilowatts of power. In 10 years such models may need six times the juice, according to some estimates. That's where you're most likely to see a 42-volt system debut. But an industrywide switch will take many years because so many components are affected.

It's also something of a chicken-and-egg proposition. More voltage would allow lower amps and, therefore, thinner wires, a weight-saving advantage for fuel-economy-minded automakers. Higher voltage also would make it easier to adopt such fuel-saving devices as electric steering. But changing to higher voltage also would require considerable reengineering to protect the small devices and electronic devices built to run on low voltage.

Systems Approach

Developers say automakers soon will be able to install a single computer network in their vehicles that lets them plug in whatever features they want. The same network could handle everything from navigation aids to climate controls.

Visteon has one ready to go now called ICES (short for information, communication, entertainment, safety, and security). A fully integrated vehicle computing platform, it responds to verbal commands to read you your e-mail, operate the audio system, look up phone numbers, make calls, adjust the cabin temperature, and even check on your stocks--all without taking your hands off the wheel.

Visteon recently partnered with 3Com Corp. to give its ICES system an in-vehicle docking station for 3Com's popular Palm Computing Connected Organizer. Visteon President Craig Muhlhauser says a network like ICES can help drivers safely make more productive use of the 170 hours a year they spend driving between home and office.

Who's Gonna Fix It?

Electronic devices are extremely reliable, but they aren't perfect. As cars and trucks get more complex, the job of fixing them requires more technical sophistication.

Sure, you still can get routine service done at the corner garage or your favorite service station. But you'll definitely want to consider a qualified dealer for work that involves the sophisticated electronic systems on board.

Not all dealers are equally qualified, however, and "big" doesn't always mean "better." You're wise to check whether your dealer is recognized for outstanding service and capability by the manufacturer it represents.

DaimlerChrysler's customer-oriented Five Star dealer program is one example. Launched in 1997, it awards dealers certification and the right to display a special Five Star logo when they meet special standards for facilities, equipment, training, and customer service. More than 40% of the company's dealers have achieved Five Star status to date.

General Motors developed this super efficient car as part of an industry-government Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. It has a rear-mounted diesel/electric hybrid power system and cameras instead of mirrors.