I'm not entirely sure what aspects of car computing they're talking about here, but from what little meat there is it sounds like they're talking about entertainment and some body control (heat/ac/radio/nav/dvd), not the (to me) more interesting engine/transmission/traction control units.<p>If my assessment is correct, they're missing a simpler and better opportunity here: the ability to standardize physical/electrical interfaces for these subsystems.<p>It will be great that they can save 15% (maybe) of their development costs on their nav system interface, but they're still going to be behind the curve when it comes to innovation in this growing space. For example, if the latest craze in in car entertainment were to be a docking station for your Game Boy, they're no further ahead than they were. If the standards were open, the aftermarket could sell a device that would plug in to the harness and integrate seamlessly.<p>The iPod was a lesson here, and I'm not convinced that anyone sees it as an instance of a generic class of problem -- only a technology that they had to eventually figure out how to cooperate with.