the automobile: genesis to revelation

Running Head: GENESIS TO REVELATION: AUTOMOBILES 1

Genesis to Revelation: Automobiles

Teresa J. Rothaar

Wilmington University

GENESIS TO REVELATION: AUTOMOBILES

Genesis to Revelation: Automobiles

When Mercedes created the first modern automobile in 1901 (History.com), the car

served one purpose: transportation. Over a century later, the primary purpose of the automobile

is still transportation, but the modern car can do much more than move people and possessions

from Point A to Point B. The 1980’s television series Knight Rider featured KITT, a talking,

self-driving car with almost as many features as a TARDIS. At the time, the concept was pure

science fiction, but many of KITT’s features are a reality in modern automobiles (The

Economist, 2009). 21st century cars can make and receive telephone calls, play DVD’s and

stream music from MP3 players, warn drivers of road hazards, park themselves, and provide

turn-by-turn driving directions.

The Connected Car

While Google’s driverless car was all over the news in 2014, an article published in The

Economist in September argues that the “connected car”—able to communicate with the driver,

passengers, and other vehicles—is what will pave the way to a driverless vehicle. The ability to

connect a mobile phone to a car via Bluetooth, and proceed to make and receive calls with voice

commands directed at a dashboard interface, has existed for several years; even some economy

cars now boast this feature. A truly “connected” car takes this technology further with

smartphone apps that allow drivers to control certain functions; for example, the electric BMW

i3 offers an app that lets a driver monitor the car’s battery status as it is being recharged, and

Audi is developing a feature that would allow a driver to exit the vehicle and use a smartphone to

instruct the car to park itself (The Economist, 2014).

Connecting cars with each other is on the horizon. Potential features include the ability

for one car to receive information regarding a traffic jam, accident, or road hazard from a vehicle

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further down the road (The Economist, 2014).

Built-In Navigation

Many car manufacturers offer a built-in navigation system as an upgrade. Not only do

these systems offer turn-by-turn directions, they can also be used to find the nearest restaurant,

gas station, or hotel. However, many consumers find built-in navigation systems to be inferior to

stand-alone GPS systems and smartphone apps. In response, Ford Motor Company recently

announced that the next version of AppLink, its system for connecting smartphones with its

SYNC dashboard system, will work with existing smartphone apps such as Google Maps,

allowing drivers to project maps from their phone to their dashboard screen (Lardinois, 2015).

Cars as Wi-Fi Hotspots

In 2013, Chrysler gave buyers of its Ram 1500 truck the choice to upgrade to a 3G

cellular modem that would turn the vehicle into a Wi-Fi hotspot for devices located within 150

feet; Audi also offered this ability in the 2013 model year, but at a higher price (Montoya, 2014).

General Motors is offering 4G Wi-Fi on more than 30 of its 2015 models, including the economy

Chevrolet Spark (Edgerton, 2014).

Cars as Entertainment Centers

The first commercially successful car radio was not introduced until 1930, and the first

FM radio didn’t appear until 1952 (Berkowitz, 2010). Modern cars can connect with MP3

players to stream music, play DVD’s, and access satellite radio services. Connected, self-driving

cars are poised to turn vehicles into full-fledged entertainment centers, where passengers and

drivers (freed from having to operate the vehicle) will be able to stream videos, play games,

check their email, and update their social media networks (Shankland, 2013).

Conclusion

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Modern cars still don’t have the artificial intelligence of Knight Rider’s KITT, but

arguably, this is only because AI is still in its infancy itself; if AI is developed, there’s no

question the technology will be adapted for use in vehicles. Cars were created for the purpose of

transportation, and that’s the primary reason why consumers still purchase cars. However,

technology is changing our expectations of vehicles and our relationship with our cars. Cars are

not just for transportation anymore.

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References

Berkowitz, J. (2010, October). The History of Car Radios. Car & Driver. Retrieved from

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-history-of-car-radios

The Economist. (2009, June 4). The Connected Car. Retrieved from

http://www.economist.com/node/13725743

The Economist. (2014, September 6). Smartphones on Wheels. Retrieved from

http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21615060-way-cars-are-made-

bought-and-driven-changing-mobile-communications

Edgerton, J. (2014, September 2). GM is Making Your Car a Rolling Wi-Fi Hotspot. CBS News.

Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gm-is-making-your-car-a-rolling-wi-fi-

hotspot/

History.com (n.d.). Automobiles. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/automobiles

Lardinois, F. (2015, January 12). Ford’s AppLink Will Soon Support Third-Party Navigation

Apps. TechCrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/12/fords-applink-will-

soon-support-third-party-navigation-apps/

Montoya, R. (2013, June 4). Six New Car Technologies That Will Simplify Your Life.

Edmunds.com. Retrieved from http://www.edmunds.com/car-technology/six-new-car-

technologies-that-will-simplify-your-life.html

Shankland, S. (2013, September 3). How Google's Robo-Cars Mean the End of Driving as We

Know It. CNET. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com/news/how-googles-robo-cars-

mean-the-end-of-driving-as-we-know-it/

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