Consumers are clamoring for more tools to help them stay connected to online media on the road. The federal government thinks they've got more than enough already.

"There's absolutely no reason for any person to download their Facebook into the car," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in an interview. "It's not necessary."

Mr. LaHood is pushing to open new fronts in his long-running campaign against the proliferation of technology-driven diversions. In conversations with auto industry executives, Mr. LaHood says he is making it plain he isn't pleased with the trend toward putting more media feeds and gadgetry into the cockpits of new vehicles.

MANAGING THE FLOW

Mr. LaHood and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have the power to curb the info-tainment technology built into cars, if they can demonstrate a threat to safety. He is also urging auto executives to free up advertising money to create public-service announcements that remind motorists to stay focused on the road, and not to text and drive.

BMW is the second major car maker, after Subaru, to say yes. It's running a television spot that starts with what appears to be a spoof of overprotective parents, but ends with disturbing images of a mother texting behind the wheel, oblivious to the sport-utility vehicle that is about to broadside her car.

BMW's North American CEO Jim O'Donnell says the company plans to run the spot, and related print and online advertising, through the end of the year.

Still, BMW isn't walking away from the in-car media revolution. Customers are demanding more and more information, Mr. O'Donnell says. BMW's approach is to manage that flow, not cut it off, such as by making brief bursts of information available on displays that are readily visible to drivers.

Other auto makers are trying to devise better ways to manage an increasing flow of information and entertainment, while trying to avoid running afoul of Mr. LaHood and his auto-safety regulators.

General Motors is promoting its youth-targeted Chevrolet Cruze compact with an ad that highlights a Facebook-update feature, delivered by a voice program through the car's Onstar communication system.

A GM spokesman says Onstar's Facebook application, which drivers can use with a push of one button while they keep their eyes on the road, is still in the testing phase. No decision has been made to roll it out broadly.

Mr. LaHood's department aims to finish work by early next year on a new set of guidelines governing the design and operation of in-vehicle communications technology, including studies of whether simply making communication via text or voice "hands free" makes a significant difference in safety.

Some studies have suggested that having a phone conversation is just as distracting to a driver using a headset or an audio system as for someone holding a phone.

SNEAK A PEEK

Anyone who has driven a new car decked out with the latest technology knows it is possible for a driver to get a dizzying amount of information about the vital signs of the car, its location, the types of music available from various sources, who's calling on the phone, or even whether a car is hiding in the blind spot.

At the same time, driving in a modern luxury car—or even a new compact car—can be a passive, dull experience. The cruise control can manage the speed. The transmission shifts itself. The scenery is the same as it was the day before.

Small wonder that even drivers who know better are tempted to sneak a peek at the cellphone or hunt for a song on the iPod.

Mr. LaHood compares the effort to change public attitudes toward distracted driving to the long-running efforts to change attitudes and behavior related to drinking and driving. The Transportation Department's 2012 budget requests about $50 million to expand efforts to ticket people texting while driving, following the example of the "Click It or Ticket" campaigns that helped boost seat-belt use to about 85% in 2010.

Still, Mr. LaHood says he knows what he's up against in the fight against distracted driving. He says, "We know people are hooked on cellphones and texting devices.