The car, I later learned, wasn't under constant surveillance by a watchful eye in the sky - the cellular phone transmits the car's coordinates only when the panic button is pushed. But not all smart-car technology guarantees a similar degree of privacy. Ask people how the digital age will transform transportation, and some say that onboard computers will make cars safer, more comfortable, and more reliable than ever before. Others balk at the notion of granting any agency, public or private, the ability to determine their whereabouts. And, of course, there are people on the paranoid fringe who fear that in the 21st century, while millions of telecommuters sit at home in their underwear, riding high on the infobahn, the rest of us will be trapped on a government-run automated highway, a glorified Pirates of the Caribbean with Uncle Sam telling us where to go.
Reality probably lies somewhere in between.
Cars manufactured today are already much smarter than they were just five years ago. In some vehicles, embedded microcontrollers govern the ignition, transmission, suspension, antilock brakes, and numerous other subsystems. Localized data networks have relieved cars of pounds of discrete wiring. Side-view mirrors tilt downward so the driver can see the curb when the car is in reverse. Adjustable suspensions turn luxury sedans into sports cars at the touch of a dashboard button.