It may also represent the beginning of a very different relationship between drivers and their beloved vehicles. The first microprocessor appeared in an automobile three decades ago, in the 1968 Volkswagen 1600. It controlled the air-fuel mixture in an electronic fuel injection system, improving fuel efficiency and engine performance and, more important, paving the way for cleaner tailpipe emissions as more powerful and sophisticated engine management computers were developed. Since then, automotive computers have multiplied like rabbits, and while cleaning up exhaust emissions may remain the computer's single greatest contribution to automotive technology, that is far from the only important function computers perform in today's cars. Engine management computers, networked with microprocessors, control the transmission, braking, traction and stability control systems, giving drivers unparalleled control, particularly on icy or rain-slicked roads.
Computers control front and side air bags and tighten the seat belts in the event of a collision.
They also command the latest air bag innovation, a curtain that inflates in 25 milliseconds from above the side windows. Even the handheld portable computer has found a new home inside the car, via an infrared docking port in a prototype system. In some cars, a computer can even tell you how to fix a flat tire. Unfortunately, a computer will never be able to do it for you. It was as though the car had become its own back-seat driver.