Dan Bastnagel

Job site managers, business owners and highway crew chiefs may be the first people interested in jumping on trucks outfitted with Wi-Fi, said the general sales manager of a Chattanooga dealership that will receive its first such vehicle in the next few days.

With its 2009 models, Chrysler is launching an industry-first wireless Internet connectivity, UConnect Web, for entertainment and real-time information access on the go.

Dan Bastnagel, general sales manager for Prebul Auto Group, said the first vehicles he’ll get with the installed Mopar feature are the all-new Dodge Ram trucks. He said he understands Dodge Challengers won’t be far behind.

“(UConnect Web) gives you the best of all worlds,” he said.

Sterling Pratz, chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Autonet Mobile, said in a June Reuters article that his company’s product allows passengers to go beyond today’s DVD and GPS solutions.

“The Internet is the future of in-car entertainment,” he said. “We’re delighted to be working with Chrysler LLC to deliver the first Wi-Fi Internet access that lets families, business and leisure travelers stay connected.”

BMW, at the 2007 Geneva, Switzerland, auto show, displayed one of its models with a still-in-development system that could be loaded with audio and video content off a portable computer via Wi-Fi while parked in the driveway, or via a cellular link while on the road.

At the time, the company said it could be commercially available within three years, but an announcement earlier this year indicated it might happen in Europe this year.

Todd McIntosh, client advisor at BMW of Chattanooga, said he hadn’t heard of the option being available yet in Europe but said it likely would happen there before the United States.

“Typically in the U.S. market,” he said, “we’re known as being litigious,” so licensing and copyright issues would hold it back. “We don’t get the cool gadgets first. They hesitate to put them in the car.”

Chrysler’s product, according to the manufacturer, combines Wi-Fi and 3G technologies, effectively transforming the vehicle into a mobile hot spot to deliver unlimited, uninterrupted Internet connectivity for all passengers in and around the vehicle.

Indeed, the connection radius is approximately 100 feet, so devices such as laptops, iPhones, Sony PlayStation PSPs and other PDAs could be accessed away from the car.

Mr. Bastnagel said the UConnect Web technology will come as part of an approximately $1,900 (plus a monthly $30 to $40 charges for Internet account service) premium electronics package. He said the Wi-Fi access alone would be between $500 and $600 cost, but it cannot be purchased that way.

The package includes an interface module for iPods, a navigation system, satellite radio and an upgraded stereo system, he said.

“The advances in electronics (in cars) are catching up quick,” Mr. Bastnagel said.

AutoNet Mobile already provides after-market mobile Internet for cars, combining the offer of both the router and the service through a pack that can be installed in a car trunk or SUV cargo area.

Similar to the service offered through Chrysler, it allows vehicles to become Wi-Fi hot spots — even through areas of poor signals — and connectivity for multiple passengers through their WiFi enabled devices.

Service plans include $29 per month for 1 GB of data (350,000 one-page e-mails, 6,000 Web page look-ups, 2,000 low-resolution photos or 240 three-minute songs) or $59 per month for 5 GB of data (1.7 million e-mails, 30,000 Web page look-ups, 10,000 low-resolution photos or 1,200 songs). The router itself is $595 (plus a $39 monthly charge).

Autonet Mobile presently provides Avis Rent a Car with its Avis Connect service, which is portable Wi-Fi used by storm chasers, NASCAR officials and others.

A customer service representative at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport said the service is not offered locally.