Amazon, Intel and Ford want to harvest data to enhance vehicle navigation systems

CES has long been a showcase for automotive gadgetry and a chance for tech companies to pitch their gear to carmakers. This year, the consumer electronics show is embracing an increasingly valuable byproduct of all this activity: data.

Modern cars roll out of factories packed with cellular connections, powerful processors and growing suite of sensors, including cameras, radar and microphones. That is turning them into the next information goldmine, rivalling the data-creating capabilities of smartphones.

Amazon.com Inc., Intel Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and BlackBerry Ltd. are at the Las Vegas conference this week to pitch data-crunching services and partnerships to an auto industry searching for new revenue streams and business models.