The state of car infotainment has changed significantly over the years. It used to be that you got what was included in the are from the auto manufacturer, and what was included when the car was built. This usually meant that if you wanted to add capabilities, (e.g. play back 8-track) you needed to want until you purchased a new vehicle.
During the 1980s high quality audio head units became quite common, and it because easy and common for car owners to replace their audio system to add capabilities. So if you wanted to add audio CD or mp3 file playback or Bluetooth support, this could be be done fairly easy just by replacing the head unit. This continued into the 2000s, when it was possible to add in-dash navigation by replacing the head unit (often where the screen extended out of the head unit itself when needed.
More recently, the ability to extend the capabilities of the car infotainment system has gotten more complicated. Auto manufacturers have been deeply integrating functionality that is required for functionality of the car into the screens. The common case is that control of the HVAC system is done as part of the infotainment screen, which would likely mean that if the system was replaced, this functionality would be disabled. An extreme case is seen with the latest Tesla Model S & Model X cars, where the driver needs to use the screen to put cars in drive & reverse.
This trend is coming at a time where the types of media and applications are changing rapidly. With so much streaming, new services are starting up that have new capabilities. Often these services are accessed with applications on mobile phones. This is great as it allows users to customize their experience to meet their exact needs, and to enable the services that they use.
As it is unsafe to use a mobile phone, while driving, Android Auto offers a great experience. It can leverage the fact that users have installed the applications of the services that they actually use on their phone, Android Auto displays a car friendly experience on the head unit touch display. This allows the driver to play the media that they want in a safe manor. On my last trip, I rented a car that had built-in Android Auto support. I was able to easily connect my phone to the car, with a USB cable, and access the applications from my phone.
access points. Every once in a while, we would loose access to the wireless network on our top floor. Restarting the Airport Express would fix it. Until, I eventually I replace it, I have turned on the wireless radio on our other Airport Express that we had been using as a print server.
