Auto TV for Rolling Couch Potatoes

The huge automotive aftermarket area at CES 05 was filled with the kind of tricked out rides you see at county fairs and tailgating events, but instead of just high decibel audio mods we saw dozens of Rear Seat Entertainment systems that link DVDs to LCDs screens built into the headrests, the dashboard navigation system and the rear view mirror. Most of the demos were monster trucks and giant SUVs, but this example from the Saav Mobile Multimedia web site (click to enlarge) is a lowly Volkswagen Jetta with two screens in the back headrests and a hidden LCD in the rear view mirror. The LCD in the mirror is ostensibly for displaying a rear bumper cam, useful for backing up a Hummer but a little bit of overkill for a Jetta, it seems to me. At Savv's CES booth, I spotted a three-LCD rear view mirror (at right, click to enlarge), one screen for the backing up cam, another for the navigation system, and another for the DVD, but there's no room left for the mirror.