Convergence 2004: the hotness just keeps pouring in

It's like magma, people, you can't stop it. DuPont Automotive and Motorola have teamed up to produce a much tidier heads-up display (HUD) unit, which requires hardware the size of two sugarcubes. Oldfangled HUDs (at right) caused engineers and designers to exchange blows because the toaster-sized devices took up so much room in the dash. Also, more notable for its scarcity, is talk of 42-volt batteries, which were once thought of as the future of automotive electronics, since the increasing power demand of in-car gizmos can easily strain regular 12-volts. Apparently the 12-volt power management system has been improved recently, and manufacturers are getting into the habit of making their stuff smaller, thereby consuming less energy. Some think that the reason most Nav systems suck so much, is because they aren't getting the power needed to function properly.
[Via The Car Connection]