Steve Jobs' Influence Extended From Cars to Cars

Just the Facts:

• Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder and visionary who died Wednesday, had an outsize impact not only on technology in general, but on the auto industry and people's perceptions of cars.
• Apple notes on its Web site that more than 90 percent of new cars sold in the U.S. have an option for iPod connectivity.
• Jobs also co-founded Pixar in 1986, which revolutionized computer animation with such movies as Cars.

CUPERTINO, California — Steve Jobs, the Apple Computer co-founder and digital visionary who died Wednesday at age 56, had an outsize impact not only on technology in general, but on the auto industry and people's perceptions of cars.

Jobs' impact reached the cabin of nearly every new car and truck sold in America. In effect, the man who envisioned and created such landmark devices as the iPad, the iPhone and the iPod, helped to put the digital age on wheels.

Jobs was often compared with Henry Ford — both industrial icons whose names would be inextricably linked with their companies for generations, as well as path-breakers who created new paradigms, Ford in affordable transportation that put millions on wheels and Jobs in communications and infotainment that put digital devices in most of today's vehicles.

Apple notes on its Web site that more than 90 percent of new cars sold in the U.S. have an option for iPod connectivity and that many iPod-ready audio systems use a 30-pin connector cable similar to the one that connects an iPod to a computer. In addition, many new vehicles feature a digital menu system modeled after an iPod interface.

Jobs also gave consumers of all ages a different, whimsical look at cars and how much fun they could be, through the movies Cars and Cars 2.

In 1986, Jobs bought the computer graphics arm of Lucasfilm Ltd., which became Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar morphed from doing hardware sales to creating ground-breaking animation with such movies as the original Cars, released in 2006, and this year's wildly popular follow-up, Cars 2. Worldwide, the two animated films have grossed $1.1 billion for Pixar and its corporate parent Disney.

For all his wealth, the reclusive Jobs flew beneath the radar, even driving a 2007 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG — minus license plates. Word of the missing plates created a buzz on the Internet last year, with Wired.com getting its hands on Jobs' VIN and running a Carfax report on it. At the time, the car had only 21,800 miles on it.

Inside Line says: Jobs gave you many of the essential digital tools for your everyday life, including all those hours behind the wheel.