Imports Aren't Only Innovative on the Market

If you were to look at for what is perhaps the most innovative auto companies on the market right now -- even outdoing the imports -- you would have to look no further than Dearborn and Ford Motor Co.

Here's a list of items that they have provided in the last couple of years:

-- SYNC Technology: Ford was the first automaker to marry Bluetooth technology and the automotive computer revolution (there may be as many as 10 major computer subsystems interacting in your car at any given moment and multiplexed so the signals are shared). With SYNC, you can easily -- if you know the ID code of your device -- link it to your Ford's Bluetooth memory where you can store up to 12 devices, each one different so that if your iPod uses Bluetooth, it will take one channel and be recognized while your cellphone will take another and if there's another cellphone and Bluetooth device used, it will be recognized and let you use your car's radio and speaker system for calling so that you can have true hands-free driving. (Source: Ford Motor Co.)

-- Ambient lighting changes: Although this is probably best left to the category of "things that are nice to have but aren't really necessary," Ford uses fiber optic technology and Light Emitting Diode technology to let you set the ambient light color of your instrument panel; cupholder outlines, door and dashboard lighting. It's not a terribly complicated use of technology, it's just nice. (Source: Ford Motor Co.)

-- Blindspot recognition: As everyone who has driven longer than about half-an-hour knows there's a blindspot in most cars. It's somewhere -- depending on the car -- between the B-pillar and the rear and it's an area where your sideview mirrors can't cover and your rearview doesn't see. It's a no-person's land where you can easily sideswipe or be sideswiped without knowing it. Some have tried to solve this with convex mirrors that glue onto your outside sideview mirrors and give you a "fisheye" view of the world, but they are hard to see in bright light. Enter Ford again with its sonar-based blindspot warning technology. With this option, you need never worry about having a car pull up and sit at your car's right or left rear because the warning system will let you know they are there. It works similarly to Ford's backup warning system that tells you when you are closing too closely on the car in the rear.

(Source: Ford Motor Co.)

-- Parkmatic: For want of a better term, you have to call Ford's automatic parallel parking system "parkmatic" because it takes the hassle out of parallel parking by using radar and sonar technology. It simply works like this: You find a space that you think is wide enough, pull the right distance ahead and then engage the system. Onboard computers then take over and watch the distance, measuring carefully so that your car slides to backward and into the space as if there were a pro driver behind the wheel. The only question that remains now is what will the poor DMV inspectors do when it comes time to show you can parallel park, nap? (Source: Ford Motor Co.)

-- WiFi hotspots: Although this might not be the best use of your time as a driver -- really you shouldn't use it at all -- for others in your car having access to mobile WiFi systems is a great idea because they can work and use their "mirror time" (as drivetime is sometimes called) to keep up with business items and emails and such. Ford pioneered this system although GMC is now advertising it in their Sierra pickup line.

-- LCD cameras and displays: First appearing a couple of years ago in very upscale models from Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes and the like, the backup camera or LCD camera has revolutionized backing up. A tiny wideangle lens sits just above the license plate frame or angles down from the top of the liftgate so you have a panoramic view of the area behind your car. You can tell if there's a tot playing back there or if the cat is sunning itself while you back up (and you know how cats do stand their ground when it is the ground that they own, don't you -- you do if you're a cat person). They are a great aid to safety and should be mandatory. (Source: Lexus)

-- Battery technology: Enter the Lithium-ion battery, pioneered by Toyota, that gives you longer range and more drive time before charging is needed. The longevity is amazing at a claimed 180,000 miles and the number of charge cycles is also. It is perhaps the most advance battery on the market and has been picked up as standard by even Ford and Chevrolet who began their systems using Nickel-Metal Hydrides. (Source: Ford, Chevy, Toyota)

-- Navigation technology: At one time, in-car navigation systems were slaves to the automaker that periodically put out expensive DVD replacement map discs that interacted with the satellite navigation system (low-orbiting satellite system) to give you your position. Today, that has pretty much gone by the board as nav systems are now using two-way radio technology to talk directly with the birds so that they can pinpoint your position to within a circle of 50 feet or less. (Source: Ford Motor Co.)

The list of technology changes could go on and on and on, but these are the key changes of the last year or so that will affect us for some years to come. Next up will be totally electric cars like Chevrolet's Volt, Nissan's Leaf and others, but we haven't seen those yet. The path is clear, though, technology is here to stay and, in many ways, is helping to make the automotive world safer and increase mileage, as well.