Telematics: Coming to a Car Near You

The number of North American car models with wireless devices in the dashboard–collectively known as “telematics”–has doubled since 2001, according to a report today from the Telematics Research Group, an industry forecasting firm. While GM’s OnStar is still the leading provider of telematics services, 25 manufacturers of vehicles sold in North America now offer some form of telematics–ranging from GPS navigation systems to satellite radio and integrated cell phones–on 101 vehicle models. Phone-related technologies will lead continued rapid growth in the area, according to the research group.