Passengers can play video games with this entertainment system from Visteon

October 6, 1999
Web posted at: 9:21 p.m. EDT (0121 GMT)

DETROIT (CNN) -- Several companies are rolling out auto accessories to keep people informed, in touch and entertained while on the highway -- for a price.

For $1,300, Clarion is offering an auto personal computer system billed as the world's first in-dash computer. It provides e-mail and pager services, as well as a navigation system to help a lost driver.

For $1,500, Visteon will sell you an entertainment system that includes a VCR, television and Nintendo 64 -- just the thing for when the ride gets a little dull for rambunctious passengers.

	VIDEO
Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten looks at the latest gizmos for your car Windows Media 28K 80K

Indeed, the head of Infomove, a company that helps develop in-vehicle systems, predicts that within five years, every car will be connected to the Internet.

The gadgetry, though, raises a question about whether it poses a safety hazard for drivers and passengers. The companies that produce these products insist they're designed with safety in mind.

"The in-vehicle entertainment products ... are set up so that no one in the front seat, especially the driver, can actually take their eyes off the road to take a look at the screens," says Bruce Weintraub of Visteon.

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