More families wiring their vehicles for fun
| • | In-vehicle entertainment options deliver radio, films, video games |
By Mike Snider
USA Today
Forget what's under the hood. These days, cabin comforts count. It wasn't all that long ago that engine displacement and horsepower were the measure of a vehicle, and a cassette player in the dash was a dispensable luxury. But today — especially in huge family haulers such as SUVs and minivans — a VCR trumps a V8, dual OHCs can't touch an in-dash DVD, and CCs take a back seat to CDs. And why worry about gas stations when you have a PlayStation?
Increasingly, cars are being sold with intricate audio and video systems as standard equipment. Many more high-tech accouterments are added in the after market by travelers who find that long drives with children can drive a parent crazy. And with more families planning to drive greater distances this year, the need to turn one's transportation into a rolling home theater has grown.
Take John Fukuda. It only took a few family expeditions in his Ford Expedition to decide that he needed to add entertainment value to ease their travels. Daughter Samantha, 9, is active in gymnastics, and many more road trips loom to competitions in other states. The drives from their Orange, Texas, home dragged for her and brother Aharon, 12, not to mention the toll it took on parents John and Sandy.
Earlier this year, Fukuda decided to install a video system, with a flip-down LCD screen mounted in the ceiling. The kids just pop a disc or tape into the DVD/VCR unit under their seat and slip on their wireless headphones, and they're happy travelers.
"It was boring for them before," said Fukuda, a dentist. "Now they can listen to whatever is on the screen and we can have an adult conversation up front or listen to the radio. They're back there in their own little world."
Auto entertainment has never been more popular, with the official arrival of road trip season — and in the aftermath of Sept. 11, say observers. Four out of 10 nervous travelers — and 25 percent of confident travelers — say they have changed their mode of transportation for upcoming travel plans post-Sept. 11, according to a recent report from Forrester Research.
"Right around November, we saw a big spike in mobile video sales," said Marc Spatz, mobile buyer for the Massachusetts-based Tweeter Electronics chain. "We think maybe people weren't wanting to fly and decided to outfit their cars."
Spatz doesn't just sell mobile multimedia; he's also a satisfied customer. "I have two young boys and (the system) has been great for keeping them quiet," he said.
In-vehicle technology use is growing both for adults and youngsters. About one-third of drivers plan to use technology such as video, audio, global positioning systems, satellite radio and handheld devices while on the open road, suggested a survey conducted in April for retail chain Best Buy. "Many travelers seem to want to stay in the (United States) and do what all they can in the states," said Jeff Faust of Best Buy.
In a survey of auto buyers, J.D. Power and Associates found that 26 percent of minivan buyers would definitely or probably buy a rear-seat entertainment system for $1,100, the current median price; if the price dropped to $800, more than one in three would spring for such a system.
And "one thing we're seeing is that interest is moving beyond minivans and SUVs to family luxury sedans," said J.D. Power's Frank Forkin.
Sales of mobile video and navigation equipment are expected to increase to $930 million this year from $690 million in 2001, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
The trend is away from videocassettes and toward DVDs. Sales of custom-installed in-dash DVD players are expected to double this year from 49,000 to 99,000 units; next year, CEA estimates, they will outsell mobile videocassette players for the first time, 157,000 to 152,000.
"It's natural to move (DVDs) to cars," Spatz said. Videocassette players are "a bigger piece of gear. DVD is a lot smaller and easier to install."
Combined with spiffy surround-sound systems, video games, digital satellite radio and setups that can let mom and pop bop to Springsteen in front while the children chill to "Shrek" in back, these outfits can get as complex as you want — or you can go as simple as a "system in a bag" that can be carried from car to car.
