How Smart Is Your Car?

New technologies can help avoid accidents or even maximize fuel economy. But even the most advanced cars are only as smart as the driver.

In Pictures: How Smart Is Your Car?

Imagine this: Your car has a computer system that not only knows your destination but automatically maintains a steady, gas-conserving pace that's perfectly timed with the moment you reach an intersection 30 miles away, just when the light turns green.

Or, better yet, the car also has a comprehensive collision-avoidance system that detects and averts a crash even before you're aware of the impending danger, ensuring that you make it to that intersection.

This may all sound like fantasy technology, but they're just the types of ideas that participants at the 15th Annual World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems will discuss when they meet next week (Nov. 16-20) in New York. While collision-mitigation systems and "greenwave" traffic-monitoring technology are still being explored and tested, there are other cutting-edge technologies and conveniences available today that make cars smarter than ever--many of them introduced at conferences such as ITS.

In Depth: Smart Features On Today's Cars

Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ), for its part, is presenting findings on various systems it is developing, including a brake system that alerts the driver about an upcoming intersection with a stop sign. If the driver ignores the stop sign, the system kicks in and applies brake pressure to avert an accident. At ITS, auto industry figures "learn what new safety technology is on the horizon," says Brian R. Lyons, safety and quality communications manager at Toyota Motor Sales.

Some technology is relatively simple in terms of the convenience or experience it provides but can wind up having a much more positive effect. An example of this is integrated support for portable devices, which allows drivers to connect, say, an iPod to the car's audio system and operate it through the car's controls. Sure, a feature such as this provides a better listening experience, but the real benefit is that drivers spend less time fumbling with the iPod and more time focusing on the road.

ISuppli, a California-based electronic industry analysis firm, forecasts that in 2009 more than half of all passenger cars will offer optional iPod support (it was just barely one-third in 2008). In addition, one-third of all 2009 vehicles (only 16% in 2008) will offer USB interfaces for connections with portable devices like other types of MP3 players and flash drives.