By Steve Nelson

I was heading to the airport yesterday, as is the case a lot of times with my position. This time it was for Convergence, the bi-annual event in Detroit. And, as usual, I was stuck in traffic. An everyday annoyance for most of us, but as I headed to this gathering of automotive experts, I looked at the cars around me and thought about what goes into creating these incredible machines.

Your car is probably the second most expensive, and complicated, thing that you purchase.  As those in the industry are well aware, the electronic content is growing at very rapid pace, which allow us to add amazing features to today’s cars.

So while I was idling along, I started some ‘back of the envelope’ thinking about the number of devices that Freescale has out on the road today.  How many we ship every day, the size of the global auto rolling stock, the average life cycle of car, and other factors.  Just the kind of thing to help pass some time.

Then it hit me. There’s literally an army of four billion or more Freescale devices out there, helping reduce fatalities, lower emissions and help drivers get where they’re going in comfort. An army of electronics keeping guard. We never want an airbag to go off, but when it’s needed, it’s there in an instant. We don’t think about the advanced microcontrollers running the engine, but they’re there. And the list goes on.

By being one of the largest and longest tenured suppliers, we’ve created a legacy of technology like our devices based on Power Architecture. I had a conversation with a person recently, and they didn’t realize that Power Architecture is not only alive and well, but the core technology of our most advanced products. And they’re out there, keeping vigil.

This week, we’re going to spend two days talking about the future of the automobile. It’s also amazing to think about what we’ve created and keeps people and the world moving.

So, if you’re there this week, or even if you’re not, I’m always ready to talk about “all things automotive,” so give me a shout.