Tired of searching for a parking spot at the mall? BMW has a car for you

The steering wheel is moving but there is no one in the driver's seat.

This isn't a self-driving car. Rather, the latest advancement in smart vehicles -- a BMW electric prototype that can search for a parking spot and then park itself with a simple command from a smart watch.

The car is being unveiled in Las Vegas at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show and CBS News reporter Bigad Shaban got a chance to take it for a spin -- sort of.

Seated in the back seat, he more or less looked on as the car slowly searched out a spot in a parking garage. It managed to avoid other cars in the lot as well as the concrete abutments.

"We have four laser scanners, one for each side of the car, so that we precisely know where all the objects are (in) the environment," BMW engineer Georg Tanzmeister told Shaban.

And when he was ready to head home, Shaban simply uttered the command "BMW, pick me up." The car pulled slowly out of its parking spot and pulled up next to Shaban.

The BMW vehicle is one of scores on display at CES that will be attempting to woo the crowds with the latest technology. Along with semi-automated features, increasing numbers of cars are boasting Internet connections -- at least 36 million vehicles are wired -- and compatibility with phones and music players.

Gary Jablonski, Ford's SYNC product development manager, said connected cars now make up at least 90 percent of his company's fleet. "This system lets the customers do what it is they want to do and get back to driving," he said.

BMW isn't sure when its self-parking will hit the road -- or the lot.