Car Makers Go High Tech

In 2007, Bill Gates stepped onstage at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to help introduce Sync, a combination GPS navigator, digital music player, and speakerphone being introduced into Fords. Mark Fields, then the head of Ford Motor’s (F) Americas operations, joined Gates for the sales pitch. He now recalls being met with incredulity. At a show traditionally dedicated to next-generation gadgets, Fields says, the most common questions for the automaker’s delegation were, “Why are you here? Oh, and by the way, why aren’t your knuckles dragging across the floor?”

At this year’s CES, which began its four-day run on Jan. 6, 10 major automakers showed off their latest in-car electronics and self-driving prototypes in sprawling exhibitions that together took up the space of about three football fields. Consulting firm Accenture (ACN) reports that technology is the top selling point for 39 percent of U.S. car buyers, almost triple the 14 percent who care most about horsepower and handling. The industry has taken notice, trying to rebrand cars as jumbo smartphones that are stuffed with apps and can be accessed remotely via other devices. “We’re thinking of ourselves as a mobility company and not only a car and truck company,” says Fields, now Ford’s chief executive officer. “We want to be viewed as being part of this community.”