Nothing excites the tech-oriented as much as a “concept car.” Will it fly? Will it float or drive underwater? Will it go 200 mph? Is it scrumptious, decadent eye candy?

And of course it never gets commercially built …

But bits and pieces of concept cars do make it into our more prosaic, utilitarian car offerings. One example, dashboard GPS navigation, used to be a “far-out” concept. Now it’s readily available.

Mark the LTE Connected Car as an excellent example of the concept car no one will ever drive but its parts and “concepts” will appear in cars in a few years.

“LTE” stands for Long-Term Evolution and refers to wireless broadband technology. Recently shown to reporters, the LTE Concept Car is packed with “media” access points such as touchscreens and wireless data receivers. One publication described it as a “smartphone on wheels.” In fact, the car seems to exist merely as a rolling media receiver/player, designed to entertain its occupants and keep them in constant contact with the rest of the world. Perhaps the metal cocooned personal space of the modern car is about to be breached.

That it moves people from point A to point B becomes almost secondary.

Besides wireless media info flow, the car utilizes sensors and processors to enhance and monitor operation, performance and maintenance.

Will the car of the future include HD Radio?

eWeek.com has a good story; read it here.