No, I am not reviewing the Smart Car. I am, however, discussing a way to make your car smarter.
The Automatic app and Link unify you with your engine, giving you all of the information to take better care of it, and save you money. Photo courtesy AutomaticNowadays, you can find technological improvements implemented in just about everything. Society has improved the television (by adding functionalities like Internet connectivity and apps), kitchen appliances (digital cookbooks, new heat–transfer methods and more), and even the home thermostat (the Nest). Almost everywhere you turn, new advances in technology have come out to improve the overall efficiency of everyday life. Of these improvements, one of the biggest changes can be seen with the car. Car companies have released cars with better gas mileage, higher acceleration rates and impressive entertainment systems; but when has anyone improved the partnership between car and driver? No one, that is, until now.
Automatic is a “smart driving assistant” that greatly strengthens the relationship between you and your car; think of it as marriage counseling, refining the already existing bonds between driver and vehicle. What Automatic does is it collects your driving information and habits (like slamming on the brakes or gassing it at green lights) and GPS location to inform you on ways to save gas, save money and maybe help save your life. You can now be easily informed of what the issue is when the dreaded “check engine” light comes on, find out what improvements you can make on your driving to save gas, and remind you of where you parked all from your smartphone.
Probably one of the smartest features about Automatic is the Crash Alert feature. While the feature is still in beta, Crash Alert detects if your car has been in an accident through the use accelerometers, and contacts both 911 and up to three preset emergency contacts. This feature could literally save the lives of many people if they are in such an accident that disables their ability to contact emergency services.
The company promotes that it works with almost any car produced from 1996 until today. This is because Automatic is a two–part setup, in that there is the Automatic Link which plugs into your vehicle’s computer (and these plugins were primarily incorporated in cars from 1996, on). The other piece that brings the driver in sync with their car is the smartphone app; this is how you can see all of the data from your vehicle.
Currently, it is available for preorder and will arrive in July (May and June preorders are sold out) with the iOS app. Android users will have to wait for the app to be released in the fall. While the price of $69.95 may seem steep for Automatic, it sure seems like one of the smartest investments you can make for your car. Finally technology has closed the communication gap between the motor vehicle and the person behind the wheel.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at cejeffre@asu.edu and follow me on Twitter @Court_Jeffrey. Happy driving!
