Special Report October 2, 2006, 4:18PM EST

Turn Your Car Into a Supercar

Today's high-end autos come with a dizzying array of gadgetry, but the coolest stuff is only available aftermarket

by Arik Hesseldahl

For many a car-loving geek there have always been two archetypal fantasy rides: KITT, the computerized car from the 1980s TV series Knight Rider and the Batmobile, of Batman fame (preferably the one from the 1960s TV series.) Together they've engendered the same kind of lust for futuristic gadgetry that accompanied Star Trek. Now real technology is catching up to the fiction.

Pretty much anything you might wish to hear, watch, or read—from your favorite TV shows and music to your day-to-day e-mail—can be moved to your car. Backseat DVD entertainment systems originally intended to entertain toddlers are morphing into satellite TV systems to entertain road trip buddies. Once, not so long ago, cars were considered futuristic if they had a built-in cellular phone, but today the most desirable technological toys are in-car high-speed wireless Internet connections and Wi-Fi hotspots.

And then there's navigation. The federally funded Global Positioning System of satellites built primarily for guiding military planes and ships to their targets has spawned an industry aimed at keeping civilian motorists from having to stop and ask for directions. Scores of navigation systems are coming to market and in turn are sprouting ancillary features such as music players and traffic spotters.

SIT BACK AND RELAX.

But one great leap forward in automotive technology remains elusive. Whenever Michael Knight or Batman found himself in hot water, he could summon up his supercar—self-driven, of course—to help him escape from any jam.

Cars that drive themselves are still a long way off, but at long last they appear to be ready to handle on their own that dreaded but necessary evil for urban motorists everywhere: parallel parking. They're also getting smarter at helping inattentive drivers avoid accidents.

Once they learn to park themselves and evade collisions, can cars that drive themselves be far behind? Take a look at the DARPA Grand Challenge, a race between intelligent vehicles. To win, a car must drive itself across more than 130 miles of rugged desert terrain. Last year a team from Stanford University took the prize. The next step? A race for robotic cars held in an urban environment set for November, 2007.

To see a roundup of some of the coolest gadgets you can buy for your car, click here.

Hesseldahl is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com.