New strategy for reviving the auto industry

Desperate to revive their industry worldwide, carmakers are putting a new twist on the traditional strategy of planned obsolescence. They’re developing cars that will be crashed much more often by the simple device of installing video screens in dashboards. Since most crashes involving distracted drivers are not absolutely fatal, many of the vehicles will in course be replaced. The NY Times indicates that computer chip makers see their own bonanza:

The automakers’ efforts are backed by companies that make chips for PCs and that want to see their processors slotted into the 70 million cars sold worldwide each year.

“Cars are going to become probably the most immersive consumer electronics device we have,” said Michael Rayfield, a general manager at Nvidia, a chip company that on Thursday plans to announce a deal with Audi. “In 2010, you will sit in these things, and it will be a totally different experience.”

Speaking of immersive devices, there should also be an uptick in the coffin making industry.