It’s like something out of an Ian Fleming novel… It’s an early Sunday morning, our hero touches his thumb to the sensor pad on the car door and the door unlocks.  He enters, briefly touches another sensor pad mounted on the dash, gazes deeply into the rear view mirror for the retinal scan to verify his identity and then, in a clear strong voice, identifies himself, “Joe, Average Joe” to authenticate the voice print recognition system. All systems are a go. He can now start the car. Within moments, he’s got his Hyundai chugging along down Main Street, enroute to the local Piggly Wiggly for a six pack of Bud.

Okay, so maybe there’s some slight exaggeration here… Piggly Wiggly doesn’t sell beer on Sunday mornings. But everything else is absolutely the truth. Fingerprint identification, retinal scans and voice recognition are all high-tech ways to safeguard your car from would-be car thieves or even family members who don’t have your permission to drive the car.

Fingerprint access technology is the one currently most widely used. A sensor pad can be placed on the car door, or mounted anywhere within the car. A simple touch of your finger to the pad and the door opens or the car starts. There is even a wrist-watch version of the touch pad that you can wear - very James Bondish. Most systems have the ability to call you on the telephone if an unauthorized individual attempts to start your car.

The fingerprint security system also allows authorized drivers to control the car’s speed, through a simple text message system to a SIM-card chip built into the system. Driving the car above the speed limit triggers an auto-dial feature which will alert the primary driver.

If the car should be carjacked, an SMS text message will gradually slow the car down to a crawl, while simultaneously auto-dialing the police and tracking the car’s progress.

With biometric security, only you, and those individuals that you specifically designate, can drive your car. Regardless whether or not they’ve got the car keys clutched in their sweaty little hands, without your finger, eyeball or larynx, they’ve got nothing.