The additional available power will allow designers to add more electronics to the vehicle's interior to aid the driver and passengers. According to Myron Trenne, Vice President, Advanced Technology, Advanced Marketing, Yazaki North America, Inc., the second revolution occurring in the electronics area is the optical multimedia network, as shown in Figure 2 in level four. This is an enabler that will allow multiple sources of high performance audio and video displays in the vehicle's optical network. The bandwidth is growing from the present 10 Mbps to 50 Mbps; in the future this bandwidth will increase to 150 Mbps. This system will give vehicle owners new choices to integrate consumer electronics with vehicle electronics. A number of networking standards are in the works, such as MOST (media oriented system transport) and IEEE1394 which will allow more multimedia electronics to be added to the vehicle.

The adoption of networking standards will allow for standardization in the area of plug-and-play which will allow automakers to use the most up-to-date hardware. There is much work to be done in this area as there are a number of protocols and standards that must be agreed upon for the concept to be effective. AEI is preparing a report on this subject.

Once the networking standards are developed more telematics and multimedia electronics will find their way into the automobile. The standardization of these electronics will make it easier to add them to the vehicle. However, standardization is not the only challenge. According to Jim Geschke, Vice President, General Manager of Electronics and Business Development for Johnson Controls, one of the challenges of the interior suppliers is how to reconcile the clock speed of the electronics industry with the clock speed of the automotive industry. In other words, the development cycle of the automotive industry must approach that of the electronics industry. Things change fast in the electronics industry; however, car designers have a development cycle of two to three years, produce the same car for two to three years, and owners can keep it for up to ten more years. This is not the case in the electronics industry. Indications are that electronics such as cellular phones are replaced and/or improved every 18 months. Under a new plan developed by Johnson Controls, vehicles will be able to remain current in the electronics area. The user interface or "first one inch" of items such as the center stack can be designed to be the same for many models. The core electronic technologies behind the "first one inch" will be able to be changed as needed over the life of the car through software downloads or the addition of new hardware. This is also where some standardization will enable the "plug and play" concept in multiple vehicles.

Under the Johnson Controls approach, this flexibility and agility can be used to upgrade the vehicle during four key times in its lifespan:

• First, during the development, product planning time - the designer can set the "first one inch" but wait until closer to production to add the equipment behind it. The electronics can be placed in the dash or in the trunk or other areas where it can be accessible.
• At the point of sale by the dealer - the dealer can add or upgrade electronic equipment without changing what the owner sees or touches. A dealer would not lose a sale because the vehicle lacked some key electronic device desired by the customer.
• By the manufacturer during a mid-cycle refresh of the car line - at this point new technologies can be added while keeping the "first one inch" the same.
• By the aftermarket industry for the owner - the original or future owners can upgrade or downgrade the electronics by changing the core.

This scenario should allow the electronics in the car's interior to remain current over the life of the vehicle. Thus as new electronics are developed, they can be added to keep the vehicle up-to-date.

This can also be beneficial during a major change such as the voltage of the electrical system. The "first one inch" can remain the same while the core electronics can be adjusted for use on 42 V.