These Days, Cheap Is the Rule of the Road for Auto Gadgetry 

By JOSEPH B. WHITE

There isn't much money in selling stripped-down, utilitarian go-boxes, though.
That's why 21st-century car makers are constantly looking for new features and gadgets they can
promote to fatten up profit margins.

The innovative energy that goes into developing car gadgetry is impressive.
You can buy cars with surround-sound systems better than many home-audio setups, radios that get signals
from satellites, headlights that look around corners, rear-seat video screens, navigation devices and high-tech
safety systems that can anticipate potential collisions and activate the vehicle's defenses.

The trouble is, right now a lot of American consumers just aren't that into any of this wizardry.

The Ford Model T

Consider onboard navigation systems, which use Global Positioning System satellites to locate a car's position
on the planet in real time. These are a marvel when you consider that not so long ago, lost motorists had roughly the
same options as Lewis and Clark: Consult a raggedy map or ask the locals, who may or may not be inclined to help.

The idea of a factory-installed navigation system was "definitely" interesting to 22% of the people surveyed.

But interest cooled off fast after the respondents learned that a factory-installed navigation system could cost about $1,600.
After the price was revealed, navigation dropped to No. 14 of 19 features with 4.3% of the respondents saying they were
"definitely interested" in an in-dash navigation system.

Fuel-saving hybrid-electric technology, priced at $5,000, ranked eighth after the price was revealed.
That's a respectable showing for such an expensive feature.
But the share of consumers who said they are "definitely interested" in a hybrid car dropped to 15% in 2009 from
23% a year ago. After telling respondents that a hybrid system would add $5,000 to the price of the car,
the "definitely interested" share fell to 4.2%.

The big difference, of course, is that oil was surging toward $140 a barrel when last year's survey was done, and
was closer to $50 a barrel when respondents were answering questions for the 2009 study.
This trend is reflected in the real-world market. Sales for the No. 1 gas-electric hybrid on the market,
the Toyota Prius, are down 46% for the year through May 31.

A Preference for Cheap

When it comes to in-vehicle entertainment and telecommunications, the study's results show a strong preference
for cheap. Rear-seat video systems for $1,500? Those tied for last among all features after the price was revealed
to the survey respondents, along with automatic parallel-parking systems. (Apparently, U.S. motorists don't want to
admit they have forgotten the art of parallel parking after a generation of shopping at malls.)

On the other hand, "wireless connectivity" ranked fourth on the list after pollsters told respondents the price
would be just $250. Nearly two-thirds of the consumers queried said they want to listen to their own "portable digital
music player" -- industry-speak for iPod -- through their car's sound system.

These results appear to square with Ford Motor Co.'s experience marketing its "Sync" system, which allows customers
to connect their own iPods and cellphones to the car's sound system and operate those gadgets with voice commands.
Ford offers Sync as a $395 option in its Ford-branded models, and says just over 60% of those models are shipping
with the system installed. The Sync installation rate is above 70% on newer models such as the Fusion sedan, Ford says.
(The system is standard on Lincolns.)

Similar technology surveys in Japan and Germany reveal intriguing cultural differences. Among Japanese consumers
surveyed in 2008 researchers found greater interest in hybrid technology than in the U.S. market -- and more enthusiasm
for techno-gadgets in general. The survey for Japan includes features such as "noise cancellation" that aren't even
listed in the U.S. results.

Germans, for their part, showed even less interest in hybrids than Americans -- probably because the diesel engines
available in Europe get comparable or better fuel efficiency and enjoy tax subsidies. Yet they appear more interested
than Americans in certain safety features, such as collision-mitigation systems or headlights that see around corners.

The 2010 Mercedes S400 Hybrid.

A 'Startling' Drop

The loudest message is that the economic shock has damped enthusiasm for bells and whistles across the board

As an element of the survey, researchers tell respondents to consider what features they would buy on their next
car if they had $3,500 to spend. In 2008, about 4% of the respondents said they wouldn't spend any of that money.
In 2009, about 7% said they would keep the $3,500 in their pocket.

For car makers trying to claw their way out of the hole, these aren't encouraging findings.