A head-up display appears to float above the hood of your car. It lets the Walter Mittys among us pretend we're flying jet fighters without the downsides, like short haircuts or a surface to air missile locking onto your exhaust stream. But HUDs run $1,000 to $1,200. Automakers have hit on a cheaper solution, the multi-information display (MID) that nestles between your tachometer and speedometer. Some (GM) call them driver information centers, or DICs.

In my book, a useful MID presents the same good stuff as a head-up display. (Head-up, not heads-up, display, pilot friends tell me.) It's only the most important information you need, nothing more. Here's my checklist:

• Navigation information. A directional arrow, the street/route name of your next turn, distance to the next turn, a countdown thermometer showing distance to the turn.
• Audio information. Station or album, artist, song.
• Digital speedometer. It's always on an HUD; it's nice on an MID where the analog speedometer readout is adjacent.
• Outside temperature. Also a snowflake icon indicating if it's near freezing (slippery roads possible).
• Time. Even if it's shown elsewhere.
• Recently switched equipment. A text prompt if you deliberately or accidentally turn off stability control, the defroster, anything -- maybe you didn't mean to, maybe the car is new and you didn't know what the button does.
• Adaptive cruise control. The distance (space between cars) setting and the locked-on indicator when ACC sees a car in front.

A head-up display also has the directionals and an idiot light indicating if something's amiss with the engine such as overheating, or low fuel. They aren't quite as critical on an MID where the turn signals are nearby.

Basically, if you glance down at an MID, anything and everything you need to know about the car is there. A useful MID is at least 3-by-2 inches (HxW) with a graphical, not just text, display. Many GM DICs are text-only and that just doesn't cut it for anything more urgent than "Door ajar." If more cars had MIDs, it would be possible to build in navigation systems at prices competitive to the standalone portable navigation devices that cost a tenth what embedded car navigation typically costs. At the least, these low-cost MID nav systems would show directional arrows, and perhaps in a year or two a moving map display.

A head-up display is better for the driver -- safer, more convenient -- than an MID. But not $1,000 more convenient. An MID that adds $50 to the cost of mid-range and luxury cars is a great deal.