Our La Quinta, CA La Quinta Cadillac team members have a confession: we'd be lost without our in-vehicle infotainment systems. What is an infotainment system? Good question. It's only the best thing that has happened to vehicles since wheels and gas.
Remember that classic AM/FM radio component you could insert or remove from your car's dashboard? Its proper name was "head unit." An infotainment system is basically a next-gen head unit with touchscreen capabilities. It gives you access to your vehicle's communications and entertainment functions at the touch or swipe of a finger. The word "infotainment" dates back to 1980, deriving from comedy shows enacted during library and information science conferences in the UK.
Evolving Infotainment SystemsMore than a glorified radio, today's infotainment systems double as mobile command centers inside your car. They dominate the cockpit, sitting front and central in the dash or in the center console. On top of entertainment, infotainment centers serve different functions in different types of vehicle, boasting:
- Safety features
- Convenience features
- Navigation maps
- CD/DVD players
- Wireless chargers
- Sound system controls
- Heating/cooling controls
- Energy storage/drivetrain management in hybrid/electric vehicles
- and more
