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A- 1 6
FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 1990
High-Tech
technology and add-ons, they
summed it up well: "Have
your car call my car and we'll
do data" (November, 1989).
Calling is not all you can do
from cars. Modern technology
now lets you add computers,
modems and fax machines,
converting your family car in-
to a workstation. The tech-
nology is basically the same.
The cellular connection that
makes phone conversations
technically possible can also
provide the means for a per-
sonal computer and fax
machine, letting the work
never stop with endless pro-
ductivity power.
These automobile access-
ories suggest that the Ameri-
can workhorse ethic may
have some truth to it. Euro-
peans gawk at Americans for
their inability to relax and
enjoy the laid-back lifestyle
that pervades abroad. The
Spanish enjoy "siestas" —
naps after lunch — before
heading back to work. The
French enjoy their main meal
of the day at lunchtime, pro-
viding an extended feast for
the whole family to enjoy
while taking a two-hour
lunch break from work. The
English are known for "high
tea" — biscuits, cookies and
tea with milk around 4 p.m.
And the Americans? Rise at
6 a.m. for a quick shower and
shave before reading a few
newspapers, catching the
morning news while pumping
a few sit-ups to gain energy
for the day and loading up on
oat bran since it reduces
cholesterol. Then, jump in the
car to finish a memo, fax it to
work and close a few details
on your cellular phone. An 8
a.m. arrival at work starts
the crazy workday. A lunch
hour is really a lunch "break"
— break away for 10 minutes
for fast food or frozen yogurt
before working until around 6
or 7 p.m., just in time to drive
home while closing some
more details and faxing some
more last-minute documents.
Car tech isn't all for work,
though. Recent innovations
let back seat passengers enjoy
television shows or video
movies, when home viewing
is not enough. Hitachi's
VTLC-50 is a 5-inch monitor
and VCR that accepts full-size
VHS tapes, is battery-
operated and retails for
almosts $1700, according to
Karen Koch, of Hitachi's con-
sumer relations department.
Hitachi also has a mini-
television set for cars that
retails about $400 and is also
battery-operated.
Although these products
are intended for back seat
use, they are not universally
accepted or legal. Michigan
permits televisions in cars, as
long as the driver cannot see
the program.
With all this technology,
many speculate that safety
may be taking a back seat to
luxury and gadgetry. Since
safe driving requires a cer-
tain amount of concentration,
distractions are believed by
many to be the ticket for an
accident.
But the accessories in-
dustry has an answer: "Peo-
The cellular
connection that
makes phone
conversations
technically
possible now lets
you add
computers,
modems and fax
machines,
converting your
family car into a
workstation.
ple are actually more aware of
what they're doing when
they're doing a few things at
a time," says Motorola's
Paviok.
A safety study by AT & T
and Bell Ameritech Mobile
Systems in Automotive Fleet
says that fears for safety are
groundless but are not devoid
of controversy. Drivers of cars
with phones spend twice as
much time on the road, but
are half as likely to be in an
accident, the study says. It
compares using a car phone to
tuning a radio in terms of
coordination required and
time spent distracted.
Also, the study says a max-
imum of 6 percent of total
driving time is spent on the
phone. And time spent dial-
ing, the act most capable of
distraction, is even less — less
than one percent of total driv-
ing time.
Despite the potential
hazards, several major
benefits are mentioned. In
emergency situations, a car
phone can save the day. Also,
having a phone in the car pro-
vides personal security,
reduces stress and serves an
an alertness aid for boredom.
Despite the apparent easy
answers to safety concerns,
the latest in car phone
technology continues to ad-
dress safety issues. For exam-
ple, Motorola's "hands-free"
feature is an option that is
practically a guarantee. This
operates like a speaker phone,
letting the caller have a con-
versation without holding the
phone.
Also, the "digital voice
caller" takes away manual
dialing and provides a voice-
activated dialing system.
Your voice, after being pro-
grammed into the system,
will order "Call home," and
the number will dial
automatically.
Other features raising the
standard of modern driving
are automatic starters and
alarm systems. A small
device on a keychain lets the
consumer press a button from
inside to start the car and
warm it up on a chilly day or
cool it down in the sweltering
hot days of summer, according
to one vendor, Rick Gold-
smith, president of Mobil-
tronics in Madison Heights.
"If someone else were to try
to get into the car, it would
automatically turn off." The
control sells for about $450 at
Goldsmith's company.
Another hand-held device
controls automatic doors from
a distance. To wrap it all up,
once a car is equipped with
any of these luxuries, a hand-
held control will turn on the
car alarm so a blinking red
light will scare car accessory-
hundry burglars away.
Blink. Blink. ❑
RV's New Forms
A vacation costs a family of
four 52 percent less when
they substitute travel in a
recreational vehicle for the
typical getaway involving car,
hotel or motel and restaurant
expenses. That was the figure
established by an interna-
tional accounting firm, Panell
Kerr Forster, in a recent
study.
The economical travel mode
of RVs — truck campers,
folding camping trailers, van
conversions, travel trailers
and motor homes — makes
them perpetually popular.
Sales are slightly down this
year. However, more than 3.3
million units will have been
sold in the 1980s, according to
the Recreational Vehicle In-
dustry Association.
One of the fastest-moving
segments in the industry is
full-size van conversions, the
process of equipping stripped-
down vans with all the com-
forts of home they can hold.
Minivans are becoming
recreational vehicles because
they're the car families like to
vacation in. So van conversion
companies are doing a grow-
ing business in installing
upholstered armchairs,
tables, bunks and other
homelike conveniences.
The converters are even do-
ing their thing with pickup
trucks. They can turn a
pickup into a luxury vehicle
with a color TV set and a
wood console or one with lots