Automotive electronics are electronics designed specifically for automobiles

Automotive electronics can withstand more extreme temperature ranges than commercial (ie, conventional) electronics, and they are therefore rated as automotive electronics. Most electrical products are manufactured at several temperature grades, and each manufacturer defines its own temperature rating. Therefore, designers and engineers must pay close attention to the actual specifications of the product data sheet.

The following list is an example of temperature rating/grade. Please note that the automotive grade is second only to the military grade (in terms of extreme temperature rating):

Commercial grade: 0 ° C ~ 85 ° C; ̇ industrial grade: -40 ° C ~ 100 ° C; ̇ automotive grade: -40 ° C ~ 125 ° C; ̇ military grade: -55 ° C ~ 125 ° C.

Now you may ask, why not use military grades in all applications? The answer is simple: cost. It is believed that as component temperature ratings increase, so does the cost—and sometimes even increases dramatically.

However, in addition to special temperature ratings, components calibrated as "automotive electronics" refer to those components that are designed or adapted for automotive applications. Such applications include: carpenters, telematics, and infotainment systems.

A car computer (a combination of a car and a computer) is a custom personal computer (PC) that is designed for use in a car and has one or more of the following additional features:

Small size, low power consumption requirements, ̇ custom components, video function (DVD), ̇ music function (MP3), ̇ Bluetooth function, ̇USB function, ̇Wi-Fi function, ̇GPS navigation.

The first use of a car in a car is for engine control. It is called an electronic control unit (ECU) computer or engine control unit. That was in 1968, when the first ECU appeared in a Volkswagen car to perform a special function: Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI).