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Author: Howard, Bill

The Mercury Mariner Hybrid is a premium compact SUV with a hybrid engine, continuously variable transmission, all-wheel drive, and a cruising range of more than 400 miles. It helps if you overlook some rough edges; notably, the tiny navigation system and unavailable stability control.

Options are few; the exterior can be light silver, medium silver, black, charcoal beige, or vivid red. Just 2,000 of these cars will be available in 2006 (plus 20,000 Ford Escapes) as Ford moves toward building 250,000 hybrids by 2010.

A blind-spot detector from Delphi Corp. could cut out many fender-benders (or worse). The prototype uses a pair of infrared thermal sensors; if the temperature to the side of your vehicle is warmer than the temperature behind, that may mean a car that you can't see is traveling just behind you. Delphi built one such prototype on a motorcycle, because motorcyclists are especially at risk.

The Harman Kardon Drive+Play represents the best current way to integrate an Apple iPod into most car audio systems, and the controls work the same way Apple's do. But you'd better be an iPod music lover: You're looking at a total cost of $300-plus if someone else installs it.

$200 street. Harman International Industries, www.harmankardon.com. ####@

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas have become more closely linked, as automakers to CES for emerging trends across a broad swath of auto electronics, and consumer electronics companies look to move inside more dashboards. At CES 2006, Microsoft announced that 61 car models now have Windows Automotive software inside. If Jay Leno delivered that line in his monologue, the pause before the punch line alone would be good for laughs. But it's really happening.

In Detroit, the theme was hybrid engines and alternative-fuel vehicles: Toyota will bring out a hybrid model of its best-selling Camry in 2007, Mercedes-Benz will put an ultraclean diesel engine called BlueTec in the midsize E-Class sedan, and Chevy will put displacement on demand in the Tahoe SUV. The 400-hp Camaro concept car has displacement on demand too, meaning if it's built it could get 30 mpg (10 mpg when you have to push it). The hero behind the scenes is the microprocessor, which makes possible high gas mileage, low emissions, and airbags that go bang when they're supposed to.

The day before CES, a group called Telematics Update sponsors a major forum in Las Vegas. With its few hundred attendees, this forum stands in contrast to the ever-porkier CES. Telematics means communications, navigation, and safety (think OnStar), but many attendees agreed that the money appears to be in entertainment. "Consumers will not always see value in a $2,000-to-$3,000 integrated navigation system," warned Gartner Group automotive analyst Thilo Koslowski. Not when companies such as Fine Digital are selling good (not great) dashtop nav systems for $400, and your cell-phone provider offers turn-by-turn routing for $10 a month.

Detroit had a strong message for CE people: Don't blame us when your half-baked technology messes up cars. Lexus says it gets more complaints about faulty Bluetooth phones than anything else. Why do consumers complain to the automaker if a phone or carrier is at fault? Well, whom would you rather call with a complaint? Case closed. Then the automakers whine about how hard it is to choose technology that endures for the 15-year life of the typical car. If technology stays functional during the first owner's possession, that's enough, I'd say.

The themes CES offers Detroit are lower cost, openness, and modularity. Audio company Alpine Electronics lives comfortably in both worlds. A star at CES was Alpine's in-dash head unit (a fancy term for "radio") with a 7-inch display that either integrates with or lets you plug in whatever suits your fancy: Bluetooth, HD radio, Sirius, XM with or without real-time traffic overlays, a navigation module called the Blackbird that undocks for use in other vehicles, a high-speed iPod connector, and, best of all, a USB port. With USB, virtually any device you plug in â€" a memory key, a Windows music player, an iPod â€" can be seen, and music can be controlled by the built-in radio's display and buttons, particularly if the music player supports the Windows PlaysForSure standard. What's aftermarket now could well be built into 2010 cars. The Alpine product is just the first of the flood.

The most important lesson the CE and PC people could teach the auto industry? Take more risks. Dare to be great. Or in the words of Myles Kitchen, an industry analyst: "I've yet to see anyone in Detroit who maxed out his credit cards or took a second mortgage on his house to bring out a new car."

The themes CES offers Detroit are lower cost, openness, and modularity.

Want the full story on these reviews, plus news and opinions? Go to www.technoride.com, the car site for tech fans.

PROS: Good urban fuel economy, continuously variable transmission, high seating position, back deck room.

CONS: CD-based nav system with tiny 4-inch display, limited audio offerings, modest acceleration.

BOTTOM LINE: This medium-small SUV hybrid does reasonably well with a 2.3-liter, 3-cylinder engine and electric motors. It's held back by a sorry-ass nav system, no stability control, and a lackluster interior. Ford Motor Co., lincolnmercury.com.###@@

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By Bill Howard