When I think of in-car technology, I think of seat-back DVD players that I jealously see in family cars. Why jealously? Well, because our car doesn’t have anything like this and I think it would be superb for keeping our children entertained on long journeys.
Long journeys, by the way, are something we’re quite experienced at as a family. With my wife’s mother and father up in Scotland we occasionally drive the 400-ish miles to visit them.
This, of course, brings me on to the other piece of in-car technology that springs to mind, the sat-nav. To think we used to rely on maps to get from A-Z is quite amazing. I wouldn’t say they’re obsolete, but it is getting that way.
The in-car infographic below comes from Halfords. It charts the development of audio and stereo systems, through to the Renault 11, the first car with a talking, digital dashboard, and up to the present day and the BMW235i self-driving car. I mention the Renault 11, by the way, because I remember one of my neighbours having one and us kids were simply in awe of it (this was the early 1980s after all).
Do take a look and tell me; what is your favourite piece of in-car technology? What motoring accessory can you not live without?
Disclosure; this post was produced in partnership with Halfords.
6 thoughts on “In-car technology through the years”
We’ve always had the basic model of cars without any fancy accessories, so I’m pretty chuffed that our new car now has cruise control and a DAB radio. It feels like I’m in the future, today!
A DAB radio in your car? Well you’re a step ahead of us!
I’m a bit car-obsessed so loved this-I want a Lexus!
A fine choice Vicki. It would be in my top three.
Great post! Very interesting to see the progress of technology in relation to cars over the years. They’ve definitely changed a lot in the years, increasingly becoming more intuitive and user friendly with features like hands free and automatic parking. It will be very interesting to see what the future holds.
Driver-less cars are but a short hop, skip and jump away. I test drove one the other day that drives itself in traffic jams.