A Personal Assistant: Your Car

Engineering advances and onboard technology can keep you on track wherever you go.

By BMW of Bridgeport

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All of us have things to do that keep us away from our desks, laptops, and even our smart phones, so how does one stay connected while driving in this digital world? Mike Liberatore, a client advisor and tech wizard at BMW of Bridgeport, has some answers in the latest capabilities available with models now in the showroom.

Is your regular route to work, your children’s school, or your lunch appointment slowing to a crawl? A navigation system that’s smarter than ever is linked to real-time traffic reports and will re-route your trip, saving time and preventing frustration.

“People spend so much time in their cars, they’re practically living in them,” says Liberatore, who obviously understands the demands of multiple appointments, lessons and game schedules on Fairfield parents. He points out the navigation screen on the dash of one of BMW’s X-series crossover vehicles, which like other models is now run by a computer so powerful that it’s like having a friend in the passenger seat.

Among its wonders are capacity to make and store your own music library, plus Bluetooth technology that brings much of your office to you, hands free of course.

Text to speech has already arrived, and your car can now read your emails and text messages at the click of a button on your steering wheel. And, while you’re waiting outside for your children to finish their violin or ballet lessons, sit back with the vehicle in park, and use the navigation screen to watch a video of that Oscar flick that you and your spouse were too busy to catch in the theatre. It’s all possible today.

More capabilities are coming soon: Liberatore notes that BMW is working on making your vehicle a wifi hotspot, and perfecting speech to text technology so that you can compose and deliver emails and texts while on your way to your next appointment. Could it only be a matter of time before we have cars that brew our coffee, and get the kids to make their beds and eat their vegetables?