Mercedes-Benz is incorporating Facebook into its in-vehicle telematics system. The prototype will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show this week.

Expect to see other auto manufacturers follow suit, Facebook Vice President of Partnerships and Platform Marketing Dan Rose told Reuters via Yahoo. "Now that cars have screens that are intelligent, you would expect that more and more car manufacturers will want to make those screens capable of allowing people to connect with their friends and take advantage of the social context that comes along with that," he said.

The Car As Online Marketing Channel

Mercedes-Benz’s move is yet another indicator that the automobile is becoming a de facto online marketing channel. BMW is adding Yelp to BMW Online. The application will give drivers access to the typical content on Yelp, such as highly-reviewed local restaurants or pubs or banks or parking garages.

Concept Car

On a larger scale, Toyota recently unveiled concept car, Fun-Vii, at the Tokyo Motor Show that seemed designed solely to act as conduit to online content. It sported a sleek exterior that mimicked the look of a smartphone, with both the exterior and interior able to be adjusted to fit the driver’s mood. The exterior can also display motion video and a user interface. (via PC World).

A Tantalizing Concept

The concept of the automobile as another data source for marketers has become a tantalizing one. This is a user group already primed for outreach, at least based on findings from a report from Millennial Media and comScore.

Most notably, it reported that 63% of mobile auto campaigns lead to site search, about four times the 16% average rate. In addition, 58% of mobile auto campaigns lead to both dealer/store locator and viewing a map, compared to respective overall averages of 15% and 18%.