Why Wait To Have A Connected Car?

In recent months, there has been a lot of buzz from the auto industry about the latest and greatest connected cars.

Auto shows have seen the debut of cars capable of communicating with their drivers and doing everything from safely displaying text messages to communicating engine troubles. While such cars may seem like a far-off future, new gadgets promise to turn almost any car into a connected car right now.

Connecting Your Car

Companies like Automatic and Mojio offer users the ability to plug into their car's existing onboard computer and to create a comprehensive array of offerings that make driving safer and easier. Most cars made after 1996 have a diagnostic port, which the gadgets plug into in order to aggregate data from the vehicle.

Related Link: Line Between Cybersecurity And Auto Safety Getting Blurry

Smart Driving

The devices are able to tap into the health of a user's car by analyzing data about fuel efficiency, the breaking system and even the car's location. Not only will they give a driver a good gauge of how fuel efficient their driving is, but they provide parents with a picture of their teen's driving habits when they're not in the car to monitor them.

What's Next?

For those who use their cars frequently for business trips or commuting, smart driving assistants are rolling out new features that make life easier. The devices are now capable suggesting better driving habits or alerting drivers of a mechanical problem. Many also offer supplemental apps and the ability to connect with online expense systems, so logging company miles can be done with the click of a button.

Risks

As with the latest models of connected cars, the smart driving assistants open a user's car up to cyber threats. Plugging into the onboard computer and sending that information over the Internet carries a risk of its own, but many worry that hackers will eventually find a way to use the devices' connection to remotely control a vehicle.