Technology has become one of the primary influencers in a person’s decision to purchase a new car. The competition to deliver the most advanced, user-friendly vehicles is certain to heat up around the auto industry and will most likely be prevalent at the L.A. Auto Show next month.

In the last year many auto makers have added technology that can everything from sync with your Smartphone to play your music, read your text messages, and check your email. A lot of new technology systems have also enhanced the safety of many of today’s vehicles. Lexus is currently designing Driver Monitoring Systems to reduce accidents caused by distracted or drowsy drivers.  Ford is currently testing its SYNC platform with how it might integrate with services such as WellDoc, a cloud-based patient monitoring service, to do things like monitor a driver’s current health condition.

As unbelievable as the advancements in these technologies are, the numbers associated with these technologies are just as eye-opening. Overall sales of in-vehicle technology will reach a projected $9.3 billion in 2011, which is 12 percent higher than 2009. Three million Ford vehicles now include the SYNC connectivity platform and by 2014 Ford hopes to have it in every North American model. Volkswagen is investing $20 million a year into its California-based Electronics Research Laboratory devoted to technologies such as automated driver assistance.

The L.A. Show this November 18-27 will be the ultimate showcase for these breakthrough innovations. Technology to look for includes advanced applications of Bluetooth, radar sensors, embedded telephony and cloud computing.