But Hogan's current job is one-of-a-kind in the auto industry: He is the first executive to attempt to turn America's biggest and most conservative car company into a sleek little Net start-up. As the recently appointed group vice president of the new division e-GM, he is in charge of all of GM's attempts to digitize, streamline and move at Internet speed.

Hogan's new tasks include a mission to coalesce GM's online properties -- which include GMBuypower.com (for comparative information about GM cars) and GMAC (for car and home financing) -- into one catch-all portal for consumers. He's supposed to streamline the assembly-line process so that a customer can order a tailor-made dream car and receive it within 10 days (i.e., no more settling for what's available on the dealership lot) -- for less than they'd currently pay.

And most intriguingly, he's been assigned to envision the future of the car -- how to turn our beloved automobiles into networked communication tools. GM's first "Web car" -- which enables drivers to check their e-mail, stock quotes and weather and use other online services -- was introduced last week. Salon Technology talked to Hogan in the wake of this announcement, to get his opinions about the future of fahrvergnugen and find out how the Net was changing the car industry.

What do you see the car of the future looking like?

The world's changed so fast, even the differences between cars and trucks are blurring. The vehicle of the next decade and beyond will be much more of a utilitarian vehicle; it will be a means of getting you from point A to point B, particularly from a commuting standpoint. You'll see more functional shapes, more functionality within the vehicle and clearly a move toward cleaner vehicles . We're working hard on hybrid vehicles, which are a combination of electric power and low-displacement gas or diesel, with very low emissions.

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