Ride in Peace
Steve Littman drives a very high-tech car for a very low-tech reason. "I'm a father," Littman says, "and the technology gives me peace of mind." For Littman, a managing partner in an executive-search firm in New York City, the most important features in h is BMW 750iL are the navigation system and the traction control. "I'm no gadget hound. But when I've got the family in the car and I'm cruising around unfamiliar territory at 1 in the morning, the gps is the best." Littman likes it so much that when his f irst car with gps was stolen, he waited four months to replace it so that he could have the factory-installed navigation system. He doesn't use the turn-by-turn feature, where the car reads the directions aloud. "I'm not that automated," Littman says. "It still seems weird to me." The traction control, monitored by sensors throughout the car, is obvious to Littman only when he has to make a tight turn or stop short. Littman also likes the warning sensors in the rear bumper that sound when he's backing up. "It's a great feature for someone who's not a great driver," he says.

Reports from the Road Warriors
Joseph Giamanco Jr., 24, has always taken a souped-up car seriously. Competing at stereo shows, he flaunts the superb sound he can get on the road. And audio isn't his only obsession. Joseph Jr. and father Joseph Sr., 53, are car-tech pros. "We've had the voice activation, remote car starters, every kind of sensor, you name it," Joseph Jr. says. Father and son, who work at a family business on Wall Street, both have their own GPS-equipped Lexus. Dad drives an LS400, Jr. a GS400. The two recently took a bu siness trip together to Philadelphia. "I'm in the middle of Philly, which I don't know from a hole in the wall," Joseph Jr. says. "This thing lists restaurants, gas stations, banks. It isn't just like having someone in the passenger seat reading direction s; it's way better." Giamanco Jr. especially likes the HOME button, which will guide him to his house no matter how far he strays. And he's glad that his navigational aid tracks him as he drives through the tunnels of New York City-a problem for some GPS systems. But Joseph Jr. hasn't had the opportunity to test how the Lexus, with its ultramodern traction system, handles in slippery weather: "Oh, I never take it out in the rain."