System, apparatus and methods for data communication between vehicle and remote data communication terminal, between portions of vehicle and other portions of vehicle, between two or more vehicles, and between vehicle and communications network

An apparatus for data communications associated with a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of electrical conductors associated with the vehicle, and adapted for connecting to an electronic subsystem of the vehicle;
• a vehicle data communications protocol converter connected to said plurality of electrical conductors to convert a first data communications protocol associated with data communications along the plurality of electrical conductors to a second data communications protocol and to convert the second data communications protocol to the first data communications protocol;
• and
• a transceiver connected to the vehicle data communications protocol converter to transmit the second data communications protocol from the vehicle and to receive the second data communications protocol from a remote data communications terminal not connected to the vehicle, wherein data received in the second data communications protocol is transmitted to the electronic subsystem of the vehicle.

An apparatus for data communications associated with a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of electrical conductors associated with the vehicle, and adapted for connecting to an electronic subsystem of the vehicle;
• a vehicle data communications protocol converter connected to said plurality of electrical conductors to convert a first data communications protocol associated with data communications along the plurality of electrical conductors to a second data communications protocol and to convert the second data communications protocol to the first data communications protocol;
• and
• a transceiver connected to the vehicle data communications protocol converter to transmit the second data communications protocol from the vehicle and to receive the second data communications protocol from a remote data communications terminal not connected to the vehicle, wherein data received in the second data communications protocol and converted to the first data communications protocol is used to control an the electronic subsystem of the vehicle.