Wiring diagram: Electronics makers have big plans for your automotive future.(News)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

From Microsoft to Motorola, they all want a piece of the automotive action-the big-bucks business of putting everything from controller chips to entertainment systems in our vehicles. And by 2005, a lot of what they're talking about now will be in cars, like it or not.

``We're going step-by-step to a self-driving car,'' suggests Peter Schulmeyer, director of strategic marketing for Motorola's semiconductors unit. Rather than seeing telematics as distractions from driving, he envisions a future in which these features are what you do instead of driving, a task cars will increasingly take on for themselves. ``The problem always lies in the introduction-the first few people who buy [new technology] have to find it useful.''

All this car electronica is split into two main arenas. First, the generally unseen bits that manage car operations (engine and transmission controllers, drive-by-wire steering, braking and throttle controls), enhance safety (airbag modules, ABS controllers, stability controls) or improve comfort (power seats and windows, instruments). More visible are the areas of entertainment and telematics, the so-called infotainment that includes everything from in-car movie theaters, game systems, audio systems and Internet hookups to navigation systems and hands-free cell phones.

The good news is virtually every manufacturer is under pressure to keep costs down and avoid expensive computerized solutions when easier solutions work. The bad news is most of the money for research and development is focused on the more profitable infotainment area, while a significantly smaller investment is going into ...