Can a search warrantless search of a car trunk be justified on the basis of probable cause or consent?

Appellant's reliance on the case of People v. Fields, supra, 95 Cal.App.3d 972, 157 Cal.Rptr. 578 is misplaced. Fields held that a warrantless search of a car trunk could not be justified on the basis of probable cause or the consent of a passenger in the subject vehicle. (Id., at 976-977, 157 Cal.Rptr. 578.) In regard to the consent issue, the court reasoned:

"When the police 'ask' someone to perform an act which facilitates their access, as distinguished from asking permission to search, it cannot be said there has been no implicit assertion of authority. Especially is that so when one's companion is suspected of a robbery and the police have shown their weapons. The importance of asking permission, as an indicia of voluntariness, was explained in People v. James (1977) 19 Cal.3d 99, 116, [120 Cal.App.3d 226] 137 Cal.Rptr. 447, 561 P.2d 1135: ' "The mere asking of permission to enter and make a search carries with it the implication that the person can withhold permission for such an entry or search. " ' If one merely asks, instead of asking permission, the essential implication is not carried." (Id., 95 Cal.App.3d at p. 976, 157 Cal.Rptr. 578, emphasis in original.)