by Scott Tilley

What's SIGPC doing covering an auto show? Simple really -- today's cars are complex, mobile, embedded systems that are chock full of information technology. They epitomize pervasive computing here in Southern California, where cars reign supreme. In fact, modern automobiles are one of the hottest areas right now for IT, with add-ons like DVD players for the kids being mounted in the back of seats and voice recognition software used to direct the satellite navigation system in the front. Where better to get a first-hand glimpse at all this than in Los Angeles, arguably the driving capital of the world! Detroit may be the center of the industry, but LA is the center of the driver.

I've been to many academic computer science and software engineering conferences. I've also been to quite a few industry trade shows and large-scale events. But until last week I'd never been to an auto show before. What was the 2002 Los Angeles Auto Show like? Big. Really big. The official attendance for the nine-day event was reported to be 1,050,887. That's over one million people paying cash money to wander through the LA Convention Center to see the latest models, the latest car toys, and concept cars that foreshadow the wheels of tomorrow.

Schedule

I actually attended the auto show on one of two media days, before the show was open to the general public. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to see some of the new offerings up close and personal. The press moved as a noisy pack from one presentation to another, gathering to see glitzy presentations from the major manufacturers.

This is what the schedule looked like for the two Media Days:

I was only there for the first day, Thursday, January 3. When I arrived at the registration desk around 7:30am, I found a distressingly long line snaking all the way around the main hall entrance. Luckily, the show personnel were very efficient and in about 20 minutes I had my badge, tote bag, and more press kits than I could carry. So the first thing I did was go back to the car to unload the paraphernalia. Then it was back to the main hall and the show itself.

If you've ever been to the LA Convention Center, you know it's a pretty big place: 760,000 square feet to be exact -- more than 17 football fields. The auto show filled the West, Petree, Concourse, Kentia, and South Halls. Just walking through these halls takes half the day, making it difficult to do justice to the more than 1,000 vehicles that were on display. To be honest, I had to race (pardon the pun) through the Concept Car exhibit, because the day was almost over and the show was closing. Nevertheless, there were many show highlights for me, from both the technology and the entertainment perspectives.

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Highlights

There was a clear theme at the auto show on embedded entertainment systems. For example, DVD players in the car for the kids to watch movies in the back seat. These technology-driven add-ons are part of the differentiators among the different manufacturers at all price levels.

The least expensive car at the show was the $9,000 Kia Rio. At the opposite end of the price spectrum, the most expensive cars at the show were from Rolls-Royce and Bentley, who showed their sumptuous 2002 sedans. At $383,000+, the Rolls-Royce Corniche and the Bentley Continental R darn well better be sumptuous.

The goal of media days is really for the car companies to get good press coverage. To do this, they stage elaborately scripted product launches, complete with celebrity guests. There were many vehicles that caught my eye during the day, but three really stood out: the Mercedes-Benz SL500, the BMW 745i, and the MINI Cooper.

The Mercedes-Benz SL500

For me, the entertainment highlight of the day was the very first press scrum, from Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes was unveiling their new fifth-generation 2003 SL500, a truly beautiful automobile with a nice sticker price to match: $86,000. The car is a sleek-looking 5.0-liter V8 roadster that delivers 302 hp. It was voted the "2002 Car of the Year" by the influential Robb Report. The top on this convertible goes down in just 16 seconds; I know -- I saw it happen.

The Mercedes-Benz presentation was acronym-rich, with terms like SBC (Sensotronic Brake Control), ABC (Active Body Control), and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) mentioned several times. The new CBS braking system is completely computer-controlled, with an older electro-mechanical system still in place as a backup. ABC controls the car's suspension to reduce body roll in corners. With its many other safety features and entertainment add-ons, it is a great example of pervasive computing on wheels.

The Mercedes-Benz presentation was lead by David Schembri, their VP of Marketing for the USA. He did a reasonable job, although the speech seemed a bit stiff, being read as it was from a teleprompter. However, the presentation livened up considerably when Mr. Schembri introduced an "avid car collector and ex-Mercedes-Benz employee" -- Jay Leno. The host of the "Tonight Show" came on stage to loud applause. He seemed much more at ease with the crowd, ad-libbing much of his portion of the presentation. The quote he told us to go away with was "Long cuts instead of short cuts", which is what Mr. Schembri said that the SL500 would make people want to take on the road. To spend more time in the car you see...

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The BMW 745i

The all-new fourth-generation BMW 7 series made its North American debut at the LA auto show. The flagship of the 7 series is the 745i, which has a 325 hp 4.4-litre V8 engine. The new 745i also has the world's first six-speed automatic transmission that uses shift-by-wire technology, with the controls mounted behind the steering wheel. The car's many settings can be accessed by the driver using a joystick-like device mounted where the gear box would normally be.

The huge 19" wheels on this car really give the new BMW 745i a very sporty look, and one can only assume a sporty feel on the road. The 745i, which underwent a complete redesign for the first time in its 7-year history, is the most technologically advanced BMW ever. When this new model was unveiled at the show, there was a large crowd gathered to listen to a description of its new features. After the presentation, there was a long line of people waiting to sit in the driver's seat. I didn't want to be left out, so I queued up as well. It was worth it -- the car's ergonomics are awesome.

I can personally attest to the technological prowess of BMW's engineers. Last year I spent 9 months working with BMW Group on a research project as part of my university research program into system evolution. The project was focused on reengineering some of their engine control software. However, I also had the opportunity to learn a lot more about the difficulties automobile manufacturers like BMW face in the design and construction of these high-performance vehicles.

BMW advertises its cars as "the ultimate driving machine" -- but do you know how they achieve this? In part, through software. Lots and lots of software. Did you know that these cars can have dozens of processors on board, many megabytes of software, and multiple networks? This is another reason that the cars of tomorrow are true examples of the infiltration of computing technology into other fields. Makes you wonder how it all works together -- but it does, beautifully. 

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The MINI Cooper

The other car that really caught my attention was also from BMW Group: the new 2002 MINI Cooper. This small but sporty looking 115-hp car will be available in the U.S. this March. It's already been available in the U.K. since late last year.

The "mini", as it is loving called in England where it was so popular for so long, should appeal to North American buyers who consider themselves part of the "PT Cruiser" crowd. The target niche market is the so-called "premium small car" segment. The Cooper will be dwarfed by the multitude of SUVs on the roads over here, but its looks should set it apart.

The MINI is Britain's best-ever selling car, with over 5.3 million made. The MINI brand was acquired by BMW Group in 1994. The new MINIs are made in Oxford, England. About 20,000 of them are expected to be sold in the U.S. this year.

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Photos and Comments

The day ended with a reception sponsored by Maserati, who were celebrating their return to the American car market after a 10-year absence. They are now owned by Ferrari. They had a exhibit of their vintage racing cars and newer products based on the Spyder line. The 2002 Spyder is a 390 hp V8 that tops out at 175 mph. Although this is a very powerful car, it wasn't the most powerful at the show; I believe that honor went to the 560 hp 2002 Lamborghini Murcielago.

These are very exciting cars, but they're not terribly practical for Southern California, where the speed on the 10-lane highways is limited by the the sheer number of cars and trucks on the road. Maybe I'll get invited to Italy for a proper test drive. ☺

Below are some of the many photos I took during the day. Click on the thumbnail image to see the full-size version.

	David Schembri, VP of Marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA, with Jay Leno, discussing the newly-unveiled SL500. (105KB)
	Shihong got to meet Jay Leno right after the Mercedes-Benz presentation. He's shorter in person than he seems to be on TV. But he was good sport about all the attention he attracted. (111KB)
	Yours truly, sitting in the driver's seat of the SL500. It felt a little cramped to me, rather like a pilot's seat on an airplane. But then again, this car is meant for driving, not lugging groceries. (121KB)
	The BMW Z3 roadster. Not only does this car look extremely sharp, it has so much computing power on board that it qualifies as a mobile mainframe. (122KB)
	This was Shihong's favorite car, the elegant and powerful Rolls-Royce Corniche. With a base price of $383,000.00, auto shows are the closest most of us will ever get to these cars. Unless you count waving to the Queen as she passes by in one during special events.  (118KB)
	A concept car from Lexus. I had a hard time telling which end pointed forward in this thing. In case you're wondering, it's the end facing towards the right in the picture. (127KB)
	I just had to take a picture of this hulking truck. Check out the name: "Ecology". If ever a vehicle was incorrectly labeled, this is it. Even the tires are larger than a person. Forget little Ford Excursions or tiny GM Hummers, this thing is really what you need for the suburban commute. Ridiculous. (133KB)