ELECTRONICS JUGGERNAUT! YOU'RE FINALLY GOING TO HAVE TO DITCH THAT ROTARY PHONE.(NEWS)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

Just as it's almost impossible to find a new car with crank windows, it will be increasingly difficult to find a new car that's not loaded down with helpful devices that improve the efficiency and comfort of your daily drive.

We realized this before we got to the Las Vegas Convention Center for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the largest event of its kind in the world. We realized it when we crawled into the driver's seat of the car we piloted across the burning desert to the glittering towers of fabulous Vegas. Yes, high-end electronics had finally trickled down to the humble Suzuki SX4, a car that stickered at less than $16,000 but came nonetheless with a full navigation system. Push the button on the dash panel, and up pops a little Garmin Nuvi 760 asking "Where to?

It wasn't long ago that features such as satellite navigation were found only on upscale cars from upscale manufacturers. Not anymore. The introduction of the SX4 several months ago with standard nav across the model range was a watershed moment. All of us can now partake of the electronics revolution.

True, some people say they hate technology in a car, or at least they say that when they post comments on the Internet. "Driv-ing is supposed to mean paying attention, not checking stock prices like some dad-blummed yuppie bank teller! Dad-gummit! Or words to that effect. But many of those same people don't stop to consider how much electronics they use now on their drives every day. Maybe those resistant to electronics change just don't want to have to read the owner's manuals.

No one wants to see some yokel swerving all over the road while he reorganizes the R&B section of his plugged-in digital audio device. But every year at CES, we see new and better ways to listen to ...