The introduction of new car-related technologies makes driving easier. Now you will no longer be surprised at the opportunity to pick up Enterprise car rental in St Thomas, even if this is the most convenient way of travelling.
While the press is discussing Tesla’s revenue and increasing the speed of its cars, other projects are emerging that can change our ideas about buying, selling and driving cars.
The development of automotive systems remains under the scrutiny of the media, and lately there have been many startups that are changing the very concept of a vehicle. Innovations are introduced both in the cars themselves and in the automotive market. Here are some interesting startups launched in this field…
Hum by Verizon
Verizon, which is a major U.S. mobile and Internet service provider, introduced a device called Hum. It plugs into the OBD and adds features that are available in the most modern cars.
This is a device that allows you to send messages about problems to your cell phone, contact technical support, get directions or find a car in the parking lot.
The cost of services for two years is $14.99. It’s not necessary to be a valid Verizon customer. Hum is great way to upgrade your car.
Driveway
Driveway Software, based in San Mateo, California, is developing mobile telematics solutions for systems that can track a motorist’s driving style by using a smartphone.
This Big Data project aims to effectively measure driver skill and was initiated by car insurance companies in order to collect objective information about the driving style of policyholders.
The Driveway app also allows you to independently determine your driving style and thereby helps reduce car insurance costs. In addition, the application provides tips on how to improve your driving style and safety.
You can still compete with friends, getting points for proper driving. The project attracted investments worth $10 million.
Vinli
Thanks to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay applications, as well as embedded on-board systems, modern cars offer their owners an increasing variety of functions for every taste. However, owners of old cars still couldn’t boast such features.
The Vinli application acts in the same way as its counterpart – Hum from Verizon. The device also connects to the OBD diagnostic connector and allows you to use all the modern functionality, including 4G Internet access.
The database includes such applications as Dash, which allows you to use the functions of a modern car in an old car, Beagle – a service that tracks the movement of a car, and Lock & Key – an anti-theft application that gives an alarm in case of unauthorized access to a car.
The device costs $149.99. In addition, there’s a monthly fee, the amount of which depends on the used Internet traffic and access speed.
Beepi
Buying or selling a car is always a headache. Of course, you can go to specialized websites or check hundreds of ads. Another way is to use the Beepi service.
The company is located in Los Altos, California, and its employees promise to come and pick up any car with an obligation to sell it within 30 days, provided that the client is within reach.
In addition, each car undergoes a full inspection, after which it’s put up for sale on the website and in the mobile application. If someone wants to buy a car, then he should contact the client for a test drive.
In case the client is satisfied with the car, he can only pay for it and drive, while the company takes all the hassles related to the making a deal. The company also provides a 10-day warranty on all vehicles.
Yourmechanic
Winner of the TechCrunch Disrupt 2012 Award, YourMechanic Service specializes in providing services of qualified auto mechanics. The car owner no longer needs to look for a reliable car service with professional personnel throughout the city.
YourMechanic platform provides a database of car repair specialists, who are ready to come to the customer and perform any of 150 types of work on any vehicle.
Contractors give a guarantee for 12 months or 12 thousand miles. In addition, as the founders of the service claim, the client pays about 30% less than in traditional car services due to the lack of garage rental fees.
There are thousands of quite interesting startups in the world, but many of them haven’t yet proven their right to exist in real life. For example, the idea of unmanned vehicles looks very promising.
If someday Google implements its project of an unmanned car, then over time, humanity will cease to drive cars at all. Of course, this doesn’t apply to those ones, who really like driving.
However, until the cars become fully self-manned, individual startups and large companies will make driving even more convenient, interesting and safer.
