The Honda Civic shouldn't offer much beyond a low price for an entry-level car, but the new Civic Si completely blows away that conception. With navigation and a voice-command system, the car costs only $22,290. I'm used to seeing prices of more than $40,000 for the gadget-filled cars we review at Car Tech, so finding the sporty Si coupe sitting all alone on the Detroit show floor was surprising, to say the least. And the Honda Civic Si skimps in few other areas. For performance, its 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine pumps out 197 horsepower. It has a limited slip differential, antilock brakes, and electronic brake-force distribution. Its manual transmission has six gears. The instrument panel is this really cool-looking setup with the tachometer directly in front of the driver, plus, in a tier above it, a digital speed display and a fuel gauge. The audio system includes XM Satellite Radio and pumps out 350 watts. Did I mention that this car costs a mere $22,290? The only part that seemed a little substandard was the steering wheel, which felt kind of cheap. That's particularly bad because it's full of multifunction controls, making it difficult, if not impossible, to replace.

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The venerable British carmaker, now owned by Ford, showed off a modern edge at the Detroit Auto Show with unprecedented audio and video connectivity. Offered as a dealer option in its X-Types and S-Types in early April, the system lets passengers bring their own media on MP3 players, iPods, DVD players, USB drives, and SD cards. For audio, the center console hides a bracket suitable for holding different types of MP3 players, an iPod connector, RCA jacks for auxiliary input, and a USB port for playing music directly from a thumbdrive. To play video on the two rear headrest LCDs, passengers can plug in an SD card or hook up any type of video player to the dual S-Video and RCA jacks, pictured here at the base of the center console. A set of wireless headphones ensure that movie soundtracks don't annoy anyone in the front of the car.

The S-Type on the show floor that Jaguar used to display these new components unfortunately also revealed a generally sloppy installation of new technology. The center stack, which houses the navigation and audio control LCD, was made of plastic, which looked a little cheap for a Jaguar. Worse, a satellite radio tuner was set into the center console, just in front of the shifter, instead of being neatly integrated into the main LCD. Although I appreciate Jaguar putting fun gadgets into the cabin, the implementation is extremely piecemeal for what should be a high-end carmaker.

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GM wants you to know that van conversions aren't dead, and to prove the point, this modified Savana got some space on the Detroit Auto Show floor. This Savana was tricked out by Explorer van conversions with a 26-inch LCD TV set into the front wall of the camper top, just behind the front seats. Oh, and that's not a DVD or some sketchy broadcast signal; this conversion comes with satellite TV. A TracVision satellite antenna is mounted to the top of the vehicle, and this can keep a signal while the van is moving. But if you did want to watch a movie, the Savana has a DVD player, as well as gaming hookups if you want to bring along that Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The driver gets an unspectacular navigation system plus a backup camera, which is essential when the van is filled with rowdy football fans. And for a final touch, the Savana comes with a propane barbecue that mounts to the trailer hitch--but only when the van is stopped.

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American carmakers have been lagging behind their European and Asian counterparts in making tech available, but signs from the Detroit Auto Show point to an attempt at catching up. The Chrysler Sebring is a stolidly middle-class car, not particularly luxurious, though perhaps aimed at people who intend to move up in the world. I found this navigation-equipped Sebring on the show floor, which suggests that Chrysler is making high-tech features more widely available. This little nav unit, which also includes audio controls, sits discreetly in the dash below the climate controls, surrounded by wood-grain-finished plastic. The controls are what I think of as being functional but not flashy. The LCD is on the smallish side, and the unit is set low in the center stack for easy visibility. But Chrysler gets nearly extravagant with the screens, setting another smaller one in between the vents at the top of the stack. What's next--iPod integration in a PT Cruiser?

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Audi has turned to high-end stereo maker Bang & Olufsen to get seriously premium sound in its A8 and S8 models. We've previously covered the THX-designed sound system in the Lincoln Zephyr. The new Audi/Bang & Olufsen collaboration may point to a trend: This is the first time Bang & Olufsen has taken its home expertise and applied it to a car. I looked at it in the Audi S8, which is a pretty nice place to start. The cabin of the S8 is spacious and luxurious, making it a good spot for Bang & Olufsen's 14 speakers. Each speaker is powered by its own amp, with all the amps totaling 1,100 watts of power. Bang & Olufsen used aluminum covers for the speakers so that they stand out, as opposed to hiding them in the car's interior. Even more notable, the tweeters on either side of the front dash automatically rise from a flush position when the system is turned on. As with the THX system, a center-channel speaker is set into the middle of the dashboard. The system also uses a microphone and a speed sensor to automatically adjust the sound to accommodate for road noise. Instead of merely raising the volume, specific frequencies are adjusted to intelligently compensate. Also similar to the THX system, the sound can be focused on the driver, the front seats, or all seats. Other carmakers that want to add a premium audio name to their models are going to have to hurry to snap up the few remaining brands.

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