Ford will begin tests in the first half of 2001. Ford executives touted Virttex at the 2001 North American International Auto Show, one of the largest industry events in the world and a showcase for cutting-edge safety features and technology advancements for cars and trucks. Ford kicked off its presentation with a short spoof of a mustachioed yuppie driving his car while trying to eat a bagel, download e-mail from a PC, synch his handheld computer in an onboard docking station, and pander to his boss on his cell phone - while a computerized female voice shouts out navigation instructions, and a computerized male voice booms, "You've got mail!" By the end of the video, the beleaguered driver has both hands off the steering wheel, commanding the vehicle with his left knee. Ford's new facility underscores heightened concerns among automobile executives, who fear that the world of four-wheeled vehicles is poised for a head-on collision with the world of handheld and laptop electronics. According to the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatal Accident Reporting System, 10.3 percent of all fatal crashes in 1999 were caused by driver distractions. Distractions ranged from lighting cigarettes and eating hamburgers to applying makeup and even attempting to write memos. But the study showed an alarming increase in the number of electronics-related distractions as the number of Americans with handheld electronics devices has mushroomed. The concern over the use of cell phones has reached a point where some counties and states have banned or are considering banning the use of mobile phones in cars.

On Tuesday, for example, legislation was introduced in New York state that would ban such use. Supporters said the proposed legislation has support in the majority party in both houses of the legislature. Additionally, the auto industry has generally agreed that laptop-style computers pose significant dangers to drivers and others on the road because reading the screens is too distracting. General Motors goes so far as to enforce a rigid rule among product developers that if the dashboard has any screen visible to the driver, the screen must be disabled whenever the car is not in park or neutral. Despite that, there is considerable debate among industry executives about whether onboard communications should be controlled primarily by voice, touch or modified sight-including heads-up displays that flash e-mail or weather updates on the windshield in a see-through manner.

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