In the 80s, a talking car like knight rider's kit was pure fiction. "My electronic sensors picked up a destination signal..." Not anymore. Modern cars are really computers on wheels. "You often hear the quotes about how they are more advanced than the space machinery that got us to the moon, back in the 1960s and 1970s. And that's true." It takes just one look under the hood to see for yourself. Compare the machinery of this 1966 Ford, Mustang, to this, 2004 Volkswagen, Jetta. "Almost everything in a car relies on a computer, one kind or another now. You have the engine control monitor which controls the engine functions, the cooling fan, everything under the hood pretty much." Mechanics say the more they are computerized, the easier they are to fix. Sometimes, they even fix themselves. "So the computer can sometimes be a little too helpful?" "Yes, exactly. Y ou still have to do your maintenance , you still have to check. Follow the manual about things that have to be changed in certain specific intervals." But what about when things go wrong with the ultra-computer itself? "There is nobody, no person to point to who designs the electronic system. There are multiple people in multiple teams all coordinating their efforts to design any different part of the vehicle." Some experts foresee the day when cars such as those in the moviedrive themselves. "What kind of risks will it involve and will we see any fallout from that." The key they say is for drivers to remember who is behind the wheel. And act that way no matter how advanced the car. Diana Alvear, ABC news, Chicago.