CES was not the only industry show this week. Over in Detroit the world’s largest automotive show has been in progress, and while I thought the weather in Vegas would be preferable to that of the Motor City, I could not pass up the opportunity to blog about the fusion of both Cars and Gadgets – so enjoy! 

2007 Nissan Altima

Every Holiday Season it happens; and no, I’m not talking about a pandemic of passed out relatives after hitting the eggnog a little to hard, I’m thinking of the “December to remember sales event at your local {insert name of luxury vehicle here} dealer.”  You know the advertisements, right? Elated holiday revelers wake up to find a new car in the drive with a big red bow affixed to the top.

Now aside from the pure, unadulterated, jealousy that these ads evoke, as I’ve yet to wake Christmas morning to such a display of affection and extravagance, I have to ask, “Who really gets/gives a new car as a holiday present?”  Well, this year I can bear witness first hand to just such an event. My mother-in-law was the gleeful recipient of a new Nissan Altima, a very fine present indeed. But what makes this event noteworthy was what happened next, as Donell entered her car for the first time and prepared to rev its engine to life she made a shocking discovery, there was no ignition key. It was then that her husband handed her a small stick of buttons and explained that this device was the “key” and that as long as it was within a couple of feet of the steering wheel the car would start with push of a switch!

Nissan Key FOB

So how does this work? What is the magic of this transmitter, can I now jack cars left and right with a Bluetooth headset?

Nissan Describes this marvelous break-thru as: Intelligent Key with Push-button Ignition“You won’t find this on other cars in the class: Intelligent Key with keyless push-button ignition, which comes standard on every Altima. All you have to do is push the button on the dash, which signals the standard Intelligent Key in your pocket or purse to start the car, and you’re off.”

But what is my neighbor, or more likely a gang of 15 year old geeks decide they are tired of jacking WiFi hotspots and want to move up to GTA: Key FOB City instead? Apparently there is not much to stop them as reported by leftlanenews in their story, “Gone in 20 Minutes: using laptops to steal cars” or as documented on the J-Walk Blog’s, “Keyless Entry Hack”Kind of makes you long for an old hand crank to start your ride! Happy Friday everyone!Â