DETROIT -- The dash-mounted CD player could quickly go the way of 8-tracks and quadraphonic sound, a vice president from Siemens VDO said Thursday at the Ward's Auto Interiors Show in Detroit.

And it will be a welcome demise, he said, because it will free up valuable real estate on the dash for all the other cool gizmos drivers lug around these days, like the cell phone, personal digital assistant and music player.

Never-ending advances in digital music devices, the take-them-everywhere cell phones and finicky customers who expect to customize their vehicles with portable devices, will push CD players out of most vehicles as early as 2012, said Frank Homann, vice president of Siemens VDO's Interior Electronics Solutions group.

Many manufacturers already are putting new sound technologies in vehicles.

For the past two years, DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group has offered its U Connect system to allow people with Bluetooth phones to connect to a speaker phone in the car. It recently introduced the My Gig system that will burn CDs to a 20 Gig hard drive in the dash.

Ford Motor Co. will introduce its Sync system later this year. It connects a driver's phone to the vehicle, as well as allows an iPod or other music device to be controlled by the car's stereo. It will also play music saved on a flash drive by connecting to a USB port in the car.

Chris Dragon, director of marketing for audio company Harmon/Kardon, said he doesn't see carmakers opening their dashes to just any devices.

"(Carmakers) make a lot of money on those technology packages that include CD players and other things," Dragon said. "I don't see them opening up their electrical architecture to outside people any time soon."

Many of the changes in future interiors will start in the more nimble aftermarket arena, Dragon said. Harmon/Kardon sells a number of aftermarket devices that are popular with consumers, including the Guide and Play GPS 500 that can store music and movies, as well as GPS navigation.

Automakers could save between $20 and $40 a vehicle if they eliminated CD players, according to Homann.

They also could save money in other ways, such as consolidating some of the electronics behind the dashboard, he noted. But all of this will take time.

Most new models now come with an auxiliary input jack to allow motorists to plug and play their music devices.

Additionally, carmakers recognize the need to have more electrical sources in a vehicle so drivers can recharge their phones, iPods and laptops.

Even if CD players linger in dashboards of the future, many will simply gather dust.

"I bought a new car a few years ago and have never played a CD in it," Dragon said.

"Everything I have is on my iPod and that goes wherever I do."

Seems like I read somewhere that with one of the music download services, you can pay like 30 cents extra and get a license free song..no DRM, it belongs to you just like you bought the CD.

I dont know how the artists/labels are going to stay in business, but they will find a way, higher concert fees, higher download fees, DRM that doesnt suck (yeah right). I will see if I can find that download service...

People are too lazy to do any research so they buy whatever is available at whatever price the store is offering it. With no consideration for the fact that there might be a similar item out there for less and of much higher quality.

Yes, it is not the artists who are making money on sales, but it is the recording studios.
The way it works, as you know, it all depends on the # of sales.
If the album sells 10,000 the first time, the recording studio makes a certain money and then they consider signing up the artist for another album.
They pay fix $$ to the artist, rest they take the risk (or get rich). That's why you see "nice price" albums at the stores, artist already made his/her money when they signed. If they sell 100,000 or 1M. they will ask for more money next time they sign, since they have a record. Just like the actors, they don't care what's the box office on the movie, they take their money and hope that it makes money at the theaters. So they can ask for more next time.

This is why you see some of the artists start up their own studios if they have some connections and experience, so that they can make money by manufacturing and distributing the CD.

I was referring to the major bands on major recording studios.
Why is it the studios that are going after the so called stealers, and not the bands or artists themselves? When idiotic metallica deal went after the college kids for swapping their songs on napster, they did that just because they were the shareholders or owners of the studio. Why do you think they went down the toilet after that point?

If that album is not worth buying (in my opinion nobody should buy an album without listening to it in its entirety once first) I don't think your paycheck should depend on the number of sales.