Next time you're trapped in a traffic jam, bored, alone, eyes casting listlessly about, take heart -- the adman will soon be coming to put on a show for you. At least if Scott McNealy and General Motors have their way.
"The kind of eyeball hours per day that GM captures would make NBC or ABC jealous," said McNealy, Sun Microsystems' CEO and the guest of honor at a GM press conference announcing the car company's new Internet initiatives.
See also: GM Watches You Drive- - - - - -
The car is a vast, untapped market for advertisers, McNealy said.
How can this be, you ask? Why, through the magic of the Net, of course.
"I often refer to the automobile as nothing more than a Java browser with tires," said McNealy. A rolling browser would come with all sorts of Net-based entertainment, subsidized by a healthy helping of ads.
McNealy's musings no doubt included a hefty dose of Sun-serving hype, but were based on a pending reality that General Motors announced during the press conference.
"We've built a Web car, and we'll put these vehicles in test in the fall," said Ron Zarrella, president of GM North America. The car will hit the markets sometime next year, Zarrella said. He was thin on details, saying only that the Net interface, wherever in the car it might reside, would be voice-activated.
The Net car will expand on the capabilities of GM's OnStar system, installed in Cadillac Escalades beginning last fall. OnStar includes GPS satellite technology that locates the car on an electronic map and pinpoints the car's location in the case of accident. The map also points out nearby convenience stores and includes software that monitors the engine.
That's the very tip of the iceberg, said McNealy, who was brought in to excite an audience of analysts and reporters with the hypothetical capabilities of a Net car.
"The car ought to announce to me, 'I need an oil change, and by the way, I've made an appointment at the nearest GM service center.'"
Like a Web portal, the Net car would be a treasure trove for ad partnerships, said McNealy.
When the gas needle dips below a third of tank, for instance, your Net car could suggest local gas stations. Naturally, it would direct you only to stations that have paid to be mentioned.
"It shows you the five Shell stations within a 5-mile radius -- not the Exxon Stations, the Shell stations," said McNealy.
Ah, dare to dream.
GM also announced that it had created a new business unit called e-GM that will oversee all of the company's Net doings, including the development of the Netmobile. E-GM's first step will be to link the more than 100 separate GM Web sites into a coherent worldwide network.
The GM network will connect thousands of GM dealers, offer car sales, insurance, and financing, becoming an immediate and formidable foe to the likes of AutoWeb and Autobytel, the company said.
