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This is the future of in-car electronics

The annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas, in the same massive convention center that held the SEMA show only a few months ago. Almost as many carmakers will come to CES as made the trek to SEMA, with seven major carmakers expected to have show stands and two big suppliers – Visteon and Delphi – showing their latest techno-stuff, too. Here, in alphabetical order so as not to offend anyone, is a preview of what we expect to find in Las Vegas this week.

Visionary tech

Ignore the marketers: There's nothing new under the technological sun. Cost and reliability concerns may have hindered the early adoption of these auto-tech breakthroughs, though you'd never know it based on their present-day ubiquity. 1941: Crossovers The combination of a fully enclosed, carlike body and all-wheel-drive underpinnings got its start with the Volkswagen Type 87 Kommandeurwagen.

Mercedes to build CLS Shooting Brake

Mercedes has announced that the CLS Shooting Brake, which was shown as a concept at the Beijing motor show in April 2010, will go into production in 2012.  Well, if you want a car that will turn heads around town – and find the E-class estate has a little too much room – then this is the car for you. Mercedes flatly refuses to admit that the CLS Shooting Brake is an estate, preferring to call it a ‘sporty four-door coupe with a sloping tail end based on the CLS’. In essence, this car is a hatchback version of the CLS, and despite a slightly raised roof, it still sits a full 10cm lower than its E-class sibling.