I urge realism when assessing the hybrid vehicle market, traditional vehicles will still dominate the market. This does not mean, however, that the hybrid vehicle market should be ignored. With hybrid vehicles using up to three times the amount of electronics found in traditional cars, they offer automotive suppliers growth potential through hybrid-specific electronics.

The gap has been closing from both directions on performance (CCD) benefits vs. cost (CMOS), so the automotive market will remain split between the two technologies for now — depending upon application requirements for image quality vs. compactness and cost.

We have not pinpointed the location of the others.

Given the big discount to other optical equipment manufacturing stocks, we think the downside is limited. We think it is worth buying the stock and are betting that management will deliver.

It is a great new service, a bit overdue, in fact.

The electronics industry moves faster than the auto industry, and that's typically why cars have historically lagged on consumer electronics.