According to a new survey, consumers are ready to embrace James Bond's car of the future today -- and the majority of them trust a software company such as Microsoft to be their co-pilot.

Results of the survey, conducted by StrategyOne on behalf of Microsoft Corp.'s Automotive Business Unit and announced today at 2005 International CES, revealed that consumers ranked James Bond's gadget-filled Aston Martin DB5 as their favorite famous high-tech car, followed by KITT from the 1980s TV series "Knight Rider" and the Batmobile. In addition, if consumers could give their high-tech car a voice, their top choice would be former 007 Sean Connery's famous Scottish brogue. Their second choice would be that of actor James Earl Jones' Darth Vader.

As more cars with telematics -- the term used to describe high-tech features that combine automotive, computing and wireless technologies -- make the leap from the big screen to dealer showrooms, findings of the study show that the majority of the Americans surveyed (60 percent) would trust a software company such as Microsoft to develop their cars' infotainment system over an automotive manufacturer (27 percent). Thirteen percent said they would prefer another type of company or were undecided.

"Microsoft's telematics platform and Windows Automotive operating system make it possible for automakers to implement telematics across their model lines," said Telematics Research Group lead analyst Phil Magney. "As more automakers respond to consumer demand for telematics features, Microsoft's approach has the potential to provide a low-cost telematics solution that can be customized to deliver a variety of applications and services."