CES opens with fewer big wheels, including carmakers

There are some grumblings that the annual CES is becoming less relevant in this era of 24-hour news and instant globalization of information on the internet. And you can make a good argument that the relevance of the world's largest consumer electronics show is at least evolving, for carmakers as well as for other industry giants.

It has always been an industry only show, with no public -- the “consumers” in "consumer electronics" -- allowed. And yet the industry wasn't there the same way it used to be.

Microsoft, Google and Apple were missing this year. Bill Gates didn't give a keynote address. And the days when electronics makers would pull the sheets off some world-goggling gizmo seem to be gone, the latter once-a-year reveals supplanted by instant fame on the internet as apps and appliances are developed.

Likewise, carmakers were changing the way they approached the show. Neither two-time keynote speaker Alan Mulally nor his red sweater vest were anywhere to be seen. Controversial Chrysler CEO Deiter Zetsche was not in town. And nary a GM CEO could be found anywhere near The Strip. Audi did have board member Wolfgang Durheimer onhand and he spoke at length with several Autoweek staffers and we're grateful for it. But it wasn't like the last six or seven years when car companies were sending their biggest guns to wow the web

Instead this year carmakers and car-related gizmo and gadget grinders used CES to show off new products and technologies, even if they weren't brand-spanking new. Nearly everyone seemed to have eight million new ways to cram apps into infotainment by accessing the cloud via voice control and redundant steering wheel controls.

- Ford and GM announced new access to their onboard infotainment and telematics platforms that will allow anyone who wants to easy access to build apps for autos.

- Visteon and Delphi were among Tier 1 suppliers who used CES to work their wares with potential partners. Delphi showed a wireless phone charger fitted in a center console, as well as a plug-in OBDII device to track your car's performance and whereabouts -- the latter coming soon as an aftermarket product.

- Lexus introduced a near-autonomous LS with sensors whirring, spinning and scanning all around it. The sexily named Advanced Active Safety Research Vehicle does not necessarily represent a robotic future, Lexus said, as drivers will always be part of safe commuting.

- Visteon used a Nissan Leaf as a platform to “investigate” the future of automobiles in the year 2020, when car sharing could be more common. To personalize borrowed, rented or shared cars, drivers could download personalized electronic interiors and infotainment settings as well as social contacts and information from cloud-based storage whenever they entered a new vehicle.

- Audi demonstrated its powerful and remarkably clear 3D audio that “adds height to your sound;” first by playing select high-def music in a Q7 with 1400 watts and 23 speakers, then in an adjacent acoustic demo chamber with 52 speakers and 18 channels. Yow. It's coming this spring.

- Audi also showed off its Piloted Driving, which takes over control of the car in stop-and-go traffic.

- Subaru highlighted its EyeSight pedestrian-detection system, already available on 2013 Legacy and Outback models, with a demo on a 2014 Forester. Once EyeSight detects a pedestrian in the car's path, it can brake the car all the way to a stop. Subaru has heard from other manufacturers interested in obtaining the proprietary system.

We'll have a look today at displays from Ford, Hyundai and Kia, and we'll roam around seeking other car-related devices for your consideration. It's a big show, and, seemingly, still relevant.

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