A vehicle communication network for use in a vehicle, the vehicle communication network comprising: at least one communication link (34, 60, 82, 98, 118, 126, 1802) adapted to wirelessly receive the at least one inbound data packet from a remote device, the remote device comprising at least one or more of a cellular device, a Bluetooth device, an infrared device, and a computer peripheral device; and at least one bridge-routing module (386, 1194, 1426, 1427) adapted to perform communication among a plurality of electronic devices within the vehicle communication network; and a network node module (390, 784, 814, 816, 836, 856, 864, 864, 878, 884, 910, 1002, 1004, 1020, 1074, 1109, 1120, 1154, 1430) including a network interface adapted to packetize inbound data in accordance with a vehicle network communication protocol and to packetize outbound data in accordance with the vehicle network communication protocol; wherein the network node module comprises a processing module (46, 274, 398, 438, 646, 648, 734, 988, 1094, 1119, 1198, 1266, 1446, 1618, 1664, 1946) adapted to convert the at least one inbound data packet from a particular communication protocol of one of the plurality of electronic devices within the vehicle communication network into the vehicle network communication protocol, and to convert at least one outbound packet from the vehicle network communication protocol into the particular communication protocol of the one of the plurality of electronic devices within the vehicle communication network; characterized in that the network node module further comprises a memory adapted to maintain a set of use modes, each defining rights and privileges for devices to operate in the vehicle communication network; wherein each use mode is implemented by an access control matrix that enables network access rights to be enforced; and the processing module is configured in accordance with a use mode selected from the set of use modes and further operable for: accessing the memory to retrieve the selected use mode; detecting connection of a device coupled to the vehicle communication network; and enabling the detected device to operate within the vehicle communication network in accordance with the selected use mode; wherein the processing module is reconfigurable to any use mode in the set of use modes. at least one communication link (34, 60, 82, 98, 118, 126, 1802) adapted to wirelessly receive the at least one inbound data packet from a remote device, the remote device comprising at least one or more of a cellular device, a Bluetooth device, an infrared device, and a computer peripheral device; and at least one bridge-routing module (386, 1194, 1426, 1427) adapted to perform communication among a plurality of electronic devices within the vehicle communication network; and a network node module (390, 784, 814, 816, 836, 856, 864, 864, 878, 884, 910, 1002, 1004, 1020, 1074, 1109, 1120, 1154, 1430) including a network interface adapted to packetize inbound data in accordance with a vehicle network communication protocol and to packetize outbound data in accordance with the vehicle network communication protocol; wherein the network node module comprises a processing module (46, 274, 398, 438, 646, 648, 734, 988, 1094, 1119, 1198, 1266, 1446, 1618, 1664, 1946) adapted to convert the at least one inbound data packet from a particular communication protocol of one of the plurality of electronic devices within the vehicle communication network into the vehicle network communication protocol, and to convert at least one outbound packet from the vehicle network communication protocol into the particular communication protocol of the one of the plurality of electronic devices within the vehicle communication network; characterized in that the network node module further comprises a memory adapted to maintain a set of use modes, each defining rights and privileges for devices to operate in the vehicle communication network; wherein each use mode is implemented by an access control matrix that enables network access rights to be enforced; and the processing module is configured in accordance with a use mode selected from the set of use modes and further operable for: accessing the memory to retrieve the selected use mode; detecting connection of a device coupled to the vehicle communication network; and enabling the detected device to operate within the vehicle communication network in accordance with the selected use mode; wherein the processing module is reconfigurable to any use mode in the set of use modes.