With the consumer becoming more and more picky, the race for the introduction of new technologies has become more intense by the day. At the 2011 New York Auto Show, the story has been no different. So far, we’ve seen new electric cars being introduced, advanced technologies for boosting mileage, as well as new entertainment and communication systems. Here’s a peek at the top attention-seekers at the NYIAS.

• The Electric Showdown

BMW, better known for its gasoline engine-powered super cars, has decided to go all electric by unveiling its first electric car – an electric version of the small car 1-Series coupe. This was followed by Japanese automaker Nissan, when it launched the electric Leaf’s racing version.

• Counting The Miles

With fuel pricing reaching unscalable heights, carmakers around the world have been doing everything in their hands to reduce their models’ fuel consumption. One technique that has been popularly implemented to achieve this target is to reduce wind drag. New cars such as the 2012 Kia Rio and the 2013 Ford Taurus have introduced shutters that improve aerodynamics by closing automatically when outside air is not needed to cool the engine.

• Pep Up The Drive

Entertainment and communication systems have also been given due consideration. Ford’s SYNC system, which lets the driver use voice commands to play music or make cell phone calls, has gained popularity amongst young buyers. Similarly, Toyota’s Entune system also features voice recognition and a way to connect with your smartphone and its apps.

via moneywatch