This is the future of in-car electronics

The annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas, in the same massive convention center that held the SEMA show only a few months ago. Almost as many carmakers will come to CES as made the trek to SEMA, with seven major carmakers expected to have show stands and two big suppliers – Visteon and Delphi – showing their latest techno-stuff, too. Here, in alphabetical order so as not to offend anyone, is a preview of what we expect to find in Las Vegas this week.

Audi's Sport Quattro laser light Concept

Audi has increased its presence every year at CES since first coming to the show in 2011. This year, look for chairman Rupert Stadler again to deliver one of the keynote addresses focusing on Audi's advances in technology. There will also be a Sport Quattro laser light Concept on hand, highlighting Audi's newest headlight technology that can see farther than a quarter mile down the road with, uh, laser-like precision.

BMW will be offering test drives of its i3 electric car all week.

BMW will reveal its plans for self-driving cars and will offer test drives of its i3 electric car in the parking lot. Expect to see more details on BMW's ConnectedDrive infotainment interface and BMW i Remote app that uses smartphones to connect to the car.

Chevy/OnStar will further detail connected car technology.

Delphi will package numerous technologies into several show cars and styling bucks, including voice recognition, “workload manager software” to minimize distractions during various driving situations and 360-degree radar and vision sensing technology for use in coming autonomous vehicles.

Ford will show off the C-MAX Solar Energi Concept that can charge its batteries via roof-mounted solar panels. Ford says a magnifying lens increases solar output by a factor of eight, providing eight kwh of electricity a day. On the other end of the spectrum is the 2015 Mustang, which, like several other Fords in recent years, is the show's official car. Just before CES, Ford announced the availability of its SYNC AppLink, which allows users to integrate more than 60 smartphone apps into their cars, to 3.4 million more vehicles currently on the road. Somebody warn those owners.

Hyundai will show off its next-generation Blue Link Connectivity platform as well as ways owners will be able to connect to it using wearable devices like Google Glass.

Mercedes will show off a means to communicate with its vehicles using a smart wristwatch.

Toyota will bring its FCV fuel cell electric car to CES.

Toyota will show off its FCV fuel-cell concept.

Visteon will celebrate its 15th appearance at CES this year. It'll have a cockpit concept developed with Renault as well as the debut of its HMeye, “a unique user interface controlled by eye gaze and head direction.” You just look at stuff and it reacts! This has already been used by elementary school teachers throughout history.

We'll have more details from the show floor and from around Las Vegas, though some of what happens in Vegas… well, you know.

By Mark Vaughn