4 Tech Players Reinventing the Automobile

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InvestorPlace
There are a plethora of companies gunning to cram your car with every conceivable electronic gadget New ideas are necessary in the auto industry right now — March sales for General Motors (NYSE: GM ) Honda (NYSE: HMC ), Ford (NYSE: F ) showed growth, but automakers can always use new toys to lure customers into buying the big machine. Here are four companies whose technology is changing the game. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) It’s hard to judge at this point just how great of an impact Google will ultimately have on the auto industry. It’s not outside the realm of possibility for the company’s self-driving fleet of Toyota (NYSE: TM ) Priuses to actually become consumer products at some point. In 2011, though, Google is making changes in the auto industry in the same way it’s changing the mobile phone industry — through software. Google is partnering with the Department of Energy to make a definitive database of refueling stations for hybrid and electric car owners. The GeoSVE database is, naturally, built on Google Maps. With the Android operating system now making it into vehicles — Saab is testing the Android-based IQon in car entertainment and information system right now — Google will be telling us where to refuel our cars as they entertain us in them before eventually just driving for us. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) Apple’s iPad isn’t just altering the face of consumer computing technology. The ultimate hipster device is also fundamental in how Volkswagen is updating the original hippie machine.  VW debuted the Bulli , an updated model of its famous Microbus, at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and one of its key features is an integrated iPad mounted on the dashboard. The tablet syncs with Bulli’s Bluetooth and handles GPS navigation. It can even display content directly on the speedometer screen — a keen way to sell a goofy looking vehicle. Apple’s iPhone has already been providing carmakers like Mercedes-Benz with a platform for dedicated vehicle apps, now the tablet’s is doing its part. That said, do drivers really need to be playing Angry Birds on the turnpike? HTC Though the company’s specific plans aren’t detailed just yet, a Thursday report at Engadget noted that Taiwanese smartphone manufacture HTC is hiring an “automotive business development director.” HTC is already in the on-board computer business — its Think+ onboard navigation and communication PC came equipped in Luxgen 7 MPV cars back in 2009. Given the strong sales of the company’s Android phones on Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ ) network in the past 12 months, it’s likely that HTC is developing a new on-board PC system that integrates with its mobile devices, much in the same way as GM’s MyLink system integrates smartphones with its many lines of vehicles. Who will use HTC’s system is the big question, however. Leviton In fairness, Leviton’s latest gadget isn’t something for inside the car so much as the garage. The electric equipment company partnered with Ford earlier this year to release a $1,500 charging station for that company’s electric cars, namely the hybrid Focus. The compact charging station is also smaller than other home units and can just hang on the wall, provided it’s close to a 240-volt outlet. Cheaper than other chargers and easy to pick up at retailers like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY ), Leviton’s charging station is one more product out there making an electric car seem somewhat more appealing to consumers. As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at  @ajohnagnello  and  become a fan of  InvestorPlace on Facebook.