We all like a bit of Glen Campbell as we’re tooling along in the Capri of a Sunday morning (alright some of us do), but looking into the latest in-car ‘business’ technology recently, it occurred to me that, the good old 8-track aside, cars and IT kit haven’t always been such bosom buddies. More Blair and Brown than Stan and Ollie.

Take Chrysler’s 1956 attempt at an in-dash 45rpm record player, complete with slide-out turntable hidden behind a push-button drop-down door. It may have arrived way before the concept of multimedia was even a glint in Apple’s eye, but it was an option for just one model year. ‘Nuff said as regards its popularity and effectiveness then.

Much has changed in the intervening half century though; to the point that Chrysler – among others – is having another go. Its new UConnect technology, says the blurb, uses a combination of Wi-Fi and 4G broadband connectivity to turn your motor into a mobile hot spot, allowing you to access email, music, video, and even business presentations all whilst, quite literally, on the move.

Microsoft is in there too. It now provides embedded ‘infotainment’ systems for several car manufacturers (including Fiat’s Blue&Me and Sync for Ford, which lets you control your mobile and other peripherals via voice commands), and is sinking an additional 30% into its ABU (Automotive Business Unit) this year, such is its belief in the sector’s growth potential.
 
Such offerings are already proving popular say the car makers – especially among younger drivers. Ford and Fiat will have delivered around 1.5million of their new tech-loaded vehicles by the end of 2008 and several more technologies are in the pipeline from Microsoft’s ABU and others. (Live Search is the next imminent arrival from MS – an, ahem, vehicle for local search and look-up applications.)
 
So, to ask the admittedly rather obvious question, what’s, er, driving it all? Well, the same old thing it’s always been driven by as it turns out – the desire to close the familiar, stubborn gap that opens up between people and their ‘lives’ the moment they step into their cars. The problem is of course, that it’s a hole we’ve been trying – and largely failing – to fill since the Ford Model T was still in lower case.
 
OK, so hands-free and Bluetooth have helped, as has SatNav; technologies like Wi-Fi and voice control will likely deliver similar incremental enhancements; and the ability to access emails and even watch presentations in-car will no doubt go down a storm.

There remains though, a fundamental sticking point here that no technology – however natty, clever, and well-embedded – can overcome, and that seems to have been forgotten amid all the “look what we can do” fervour. You cannot drive and work at the same time – and trying to prove otherwise is about as futile as reinventing the wheel.”