Car Tech: A Back Seat at CES.

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Author: Greene, Jay

AUTOS

Aftermarket gear makers don't get prime real estate, but that doesn't stop them from competing to display the most outrageous tricked-out autos

The just-ended Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is largely a bastion for geeks and gadget freaks. Each day, a new cell phone, flat-panel TV, or digital music player makes its debut. And the legions who make the journey to CES camp out for an hour or longer just to get the opportunity to hear the digital gospel from top execs such as Microsoft's (MSFT) Bill Gates and Sir Howard Stringer of Sony (SNE).

But CES has another side, one that doesn't share the bright lights with techdom's big guns. It's the automotive section. The aftermarket component exhibitors are largely cloistered away from the rest of CES. They fill the cavernous north hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center where it's hard to find companies like Intel (INTC) or Samsung hanging around.

Car audio- and video-component makers typically pump out the latest hip-hop tunes at ear-splitting volumes through stereo systems more powerful than most consumers' home units. Stand close enough, and your clothes will ripple with the vibrations.

SONIC GOODNESS.

Tricked-out cars are a growing phenomena, thanks in part to Pimp My Ride. The popular MTV's reality show gives twenty-somethings a makeover for their old beaters, getting as much as $30,000 of new supersonic audio and video gear on a rigs worth less than $1,000. So it's no surprise that a star of the show, Mad Mike, is signing autographs at the booth of MTX Audio, which makes car speakers, amplifiers, and subwoofers.

Mike is helping MTX push its JackHammer subwoofer, a 369-pound, 22-inch high throbbing hunk of sonic goodness. One recent Pimp My Ride episode featured Mike and crew putting the JackHammer in a 1986 Buick Regal. The crew added a flashing caution light on the center panel of the car that reads "Warning: Ridiculous Bass" whenever the stereo plays.

So does anyone really need that much bass? "Absolutely," says MTX's ever-dutiful spokeswoman Hilary Moore. "Everyone needs a JackHammer." Since the $7,500 unit pumps out the equivalent of a dozen 12-inch subwoofers, Moore rationalizes that the JackHammer actually saves space.

ELVIS ON EIGHT-TRACK.

To vie for attention among the cacophony, exhibitors often work to outdo competitors with the most souped-up, gear-laden, slickly painted cars they can find. One of the best: a Toyota Celica in the Blaupunkt booth. A Toyota (TM) Celica? Well, this baby is loaded with nine -- count 'em, nine -- video screens, including two on each of the flip-up side doors and another right in the center of the steering wheel. There's a nitrous oxide tank between the driver and passenger seats for that extra bit of juice to zoom past slowpokes. And in the back seat is Sony's Playstation 2 with screens on the back of each of the front-seat headrests.

Going old-school, Boston Acoustics rolled out a 1967 Shelby GT 500. No video screens in this ride. But the car is loaded with Boston's high-end speakers, subwoofers, and amplifies. And just to keep a bit of authenticity, the car also comes with an eight-track tape player, connected to the rest of the system. As an added touch, the eight-track was loaded with Elvis, A Legendary Performer, Vol. 1.

Some exhibitors up the booth-bait ante even more, bringing in celebrities to chat up attendees and scantily clad models to pose with them for pictures. XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), the market leader, trotted out New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter to talk about his career and help sell the service. US Amps, a maker of high-end amplifiers, had swimsuit and lingerie model Chanel Ryan autographing her posters for those willing to stand in line.

WHO NEEDS HALTERS?

So what's a company to do when it has an innovative product that doesn't reek of testosterone? Harman/Kardon's Drive + Play is one of the slickest offerings on the floor, an elegant way to connect an iPod to a car stereo. The Drive + Play comes with a mountable display to keep tabs on your songs and a clever controller that lets users navigate their iPod (AAPL) just as easy as if it was in the palm of their hand.

Despite relatively subtle cars showing its products and not a low-cut halter top in sight, the Harman/Kardon booth is still teeming with attendees checking out the Drive + Play. How can that be? Christopher M. Dragon, the company's director of brand marketing, insists that in the end, quality products trump glitz and noise. "We're serious about this business," Dragon says. "That's why we don't have booth bunnies here."

At the CES automotive section, that's pretty darn serious.

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By Jay Greene