Hughes plans to start rolling out the new dashboard consoles in about 2010, and gives examples like an emissions monitor, web-connected security camera, and even Twitter integration as what might soon be appearing in your car. Think about it: on a cross-country trip, your car takes panoramic photos of your surroundings every half hour, or of that little punk that keyed your front door in the Wendy's parking lot. You could lock and unlock your car with your iPhone, or control the stereo with it. What about updating your Facebook status with exactly where you are? That way your friends can have even more specific data about your personal life to not care about. This is the future, people. [NYTimes, photo by NYTimes]

Yes, this car will text your colleagues "b 15 m l8" next time you're running late.

Like Ford's Sync service, you can use Hughes' in-car tech platform, which is being pitched to car manufacturers on an OEM basis for inclusion in future vehicles, to do a lot of things with your voice, including respond to text messages (but only with canned SMS presets that are activated by spoken keywords). You can choose to respond in plain English, or with translations using a custom dictionary (here, apparently, set to illiterate 'tween). It can also translate any internet-isms it may find while it reads you your exchange email or calendars, too.

Hughes's demo vehicle was packed full of lots of other cool stuff, including an on-board 3G connection (with compatibility for WiMax down the road) that can be fed out via wi-fi to turn your car into a roaming hotspot. The only auto maker offering something like that right now is Chrysler with their UConnect service (not done by Hughes), but it's something we'd love to see more of.

Hughes is bringing some of its voice-activated telematics to Mercedes vehicles later this year (not including the mobile hotspot tech, sadly), but their demo jeep we saw today is a good example of what might come. [Hughes Telematics]