In this paper distributed architectures for autonomous vehicles are addressed, with a special emphasis on its real-time control requirements. The interconnection of the distributed intelligent subsystems is a key factor in the overall performance of the system. To better understand the interconnection requirements, the main techniques and modules of a global navigation system are described. A special focus on fieldbuses properties and major characteristics is made in order to point out some potentialities, which make them attractive in autonomous vehicles real-time applications, either in terms of reliability as in terms of real-time restrictions.