A survey released this week by Accenture of 500 US motorists found that 84% want their cars outfitted with in-vehicle technologies, including telematics functions such as stolen vehicle tracking and vehicle diagnostics, and that 69% rank safety and security technologies as the most important.

Seven out of 10 respondents (71%) said that they would pay a factory installation fee for safety and security features, and 41% said they are willing to pay more than $50 for factory installation of these features. Almost half (47%) said they are willing to pay a monthly fee for such in-vehicle technologies.

Overall, the survey found a sizeable gap between the technologies that respondents want in their cars and those that they have. For example, while 57% of respondents said they want stolen vehicle tracking, only 9% currently have it. Similarly, while 55% said they want remote door unlock and the same number said they want vehicle diagnostics, only 31% and 23% of respondents, respectively, currently have these technologies. Fifty per cent of respondents said they do not have the in-vehicle technologies they want due to high cost, and 47% said the technology was not available when they purchased their cars.

After safety and security, respondents selected information services, communications and entertainment as the most important features (cited by 15%, 6% and 5%, respectively).

Accenture conducted an online and telephone survey in February 2006 of 500 U.S. consumers between 21 and 70 years of age, all of whom own or lease a car.