With iPod integration in many cars these days, can you imagine having access to Google in your car? Google Local and Google Search would be incredibly handy to have while driving, since you may have forgotten to print out those Google Local maps from your printer. Sure, you can access Google on your cellphone at www.google.com/xhtml and even download a small Google application for Google Local at www.google.com/glm, but these require dedicated attention -- something you can't really do while driving.

So, we come back to the central tenet of this post -- would offerings like text-to-speech navigation and handsfree access to 3D visual representations of drive patterns and even navigational maps be healthy for industry automakers looking to further differentiate themselves from the crowd?

Sure, voice-dictated and DVD-based navigation systems are already standard in many vehicles -- but the "Google" brand is not there. This is a huge differentiator. With Honda and Volkswagen apparently in talks with Google to do some of these in-car things, our cars may soon become personal computers in their own right. Graphics acceleration, powerful CPUs and audio/video interfaces may just be on their way. Should GOOG investors be cheering? Yes -- cars will be with us for a long while to come, and as the Google brand continues to infiltrate every facet of daily life, its brand will reign supreme -- much to the delight of GOOG sharesholders most likely.