NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
When you're buying a car, deciding on the options you want can be the hardest part. Just to make your life a little more difficult, but a little more fun at the same time, automakers have been coming out with options your father or mother never had to contend with.
Many 2003 models have features like satellite radio, with crystal-clear digital sound and 100 channels, or in-car DVD players with cordless headsets, which entertain the kids with their favorite movies while you keep your eyes on the road.
Here's a sampler of the coolest tech goodies around.
Telematics: You know that horrible feeling of watching your car door swing shut just as you realize your keys are still inside? With a service like OnStar, that feeling can be much less painful. You just make a phone call and cachunk! Your car unlocks all by itself. No waiting for a tow truck driver with a slim-jim and a credit card reader.
OnStar is a telematics service available in 2003 Acura, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Lexus, Audi, Subaru and GM models, among others. It also includes a navigation system that lets you call an OnStar center if you're lost, and roadside assistance and safety features.
In a moderate-to-severe frontal crash, rear- or side-impact crash, the newest version of the OnStar system will automatically notify emergency services wherever you happen to be. It also calls whenever airbags deploy. Other perks include local weather reports, local traffic patterns and even concierge services that can make a hotel or restaurant reservation for you.
OnStar is $695 option on GM models. You also pay $16.95 a month or more for service that may include just basic security features or more frills.
UConnect, a DaimlerChrysler option, synchronizes your handheld and hands-free in-car cell phone. Say you're chatting on the phone as you walk to your car. When you get in your car and start the engine, UConnect automatically switches your call to the automobile's hands-free system.
UConnect will be available in 2003 model-year Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles as a dealer-installed feature, and costs $299. It requires a cell phone equipped with BlueTooth wireless networking technology.
"Most phone makers are switching to BlueTooth-enabled phones," said Dianna Gutierrez, spokesperson for DaimlerChrysler. "By the time UConnect hits the dealerships, most cell phone companies will offer BlueTooth-enabled phones."
In-car DVD players: Automakers have finally found a way to get the kids to stop asking you whether you're "almost there yet". In fact, you may have trouble getting them out of the car once you do get there. New in-car DVD players or VCRs show on screens behind the first row of seats so they won't distract the driver but back-seat passengers will love them.
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| DVD player screen in a Ford Expedition |
In-car DVDs or VCRs come in larger family cars, minivans and SUVs like the Olds Silhouette Premiere, which pioneered the technology, the Nissan Pathfinder and Quest, and the Ford Navigator, Excursion, Expedition, and Mercury Mountaineer Premier.
Option prices vary, but cost between $900 and $1,000 in the Ford minivans, according to Said Deep, a spokesperson for Ford Motors.
Global Positioning Navigation System: You might not need to stop for directions ever again if your car had an electronic map that your car could follow like a video game, helping you arrive at your destination.
Birdview, a system developed for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, uses global satellite positioning to give you a bird's-eye view of the roads you're driving on, with the streets coming up in sharp detail and your destination farther out on the horizon. You can toggle between Birdview and a plain map view, and you can zoom in and out as you move on the map.
The system is available in the Infiniti Q45 (where it's voice-activated, along with the HVAC), the G35 sedan and coupe, the I35 and the appropriately-named Nissan Pathfinder. GPS can be a stand-alone option or included in an option package with other features so pricing varies a lot.
Satellite radio: Can't find anything good on the radio? With satellite radio, you'll at least be able to occupy more of your time looking as you search through more than 100 stations. And, if you do actually find something you like, you'll never have to change the station no matter how far you drive. With the signal coming to you from satellites in orbit, you can cover the country and never drive out of range.
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Two main providers, XM and Sirius Satellite Radio, sell after-market receivers at electronics stores or you can get XM or Sirius Radio on many new cars as an option or even a standard feature.
"Since most radio listening is done in the car, most XM products are aimed at the car," said Charles Robbins, a spokesperson for XM radio.
XM is a factory-installed option in 25 different GM vehicles, and a dealer-installed option in the Isuzu Axiom and Isuzu Rodeo. Sirius works with the Ford lines, DaimlerChrysler and BMW. Some Infiniti and Nissan vehicles will even let you have your druthers and pick between the two services yourself.
DaimlerChrysler has announced a $295 option cost for Sirius Radio, and service costs $12.95 a month. XM service costs $9.99 a month, and $365 would cover the unit and installation, according to a spokesperson for Isuzu. Buying a system at Best Buy or Circuit City would start around $175 to $200.
In-car MP3 players: Music fans who want to carry hours of recorded music in the car without having to flip through CDs or install a bulky disc changer can get an MP3 player for their car.
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| Ford Focus MP3 player |
Not too many cars around have this feature yet, however. A CD/MP3 player is now standard on the new Ford Focus ZX3 and ZX5, and an option on the new Mazda Protégé Speed as a dealer-installed accessory.
The MP3 player in the Focus plays regular CDs and CDs with MP3 files, said Deep. MP3s audio files are highly compressed, so you get more tunes onto one CD -- about 10 hours' worth of music.
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