DETROIT ? Studies show consumers shop for cars and trucks that match their style, their favorite color, and even the best fuel economy. Increasingly, though, experts say vehicle buying decisions hinge on how well consumers? smart phones connect to a car or trucks? Infoentertainment system.
?Towing capability is a unique feature for a certain segment,? said Mark Boyadjis, Senior Analyst & Manager, Infoentertainment at HIS Automotive. ?Cargo volume is another. But increasingly it doesn?t matter what the car, nor the price, as long as the technology in the car works with the consumers? mobile technology.?
A couple years ago, Ford Motor Company, BMW and Mercedes Benz were ahead of other auto makers in offering in-vehicle Infoentertainment systems, he said. But at the Detroit International Auto Show in January, and a week earlier at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the rest of the automakers showcased cars and trucks that connected to smart phones through Bluetooth technology closing the gap.
At CES, both Ford and General Motors Corp. took the smart phone experience one-step further by opening their latest vehicles to global developers working on apps for Androids and iPhones. GM spokesman Scott Fosgard called it GM?s new flexible app framework.
?This will do two things: lead to the creation of a new category of apps that don’t exist yet,? Fosgard said. ?Let’s call them car apps, designed uniquely for the car and not a tablet or smart phone. These apps would take data from the car and turn it into some tangible benefit back to you, the consumer ? like saving on insurance premiums because you can prove to the insurance company that your teenager is a safe driver.
?Two, this allows you to add the apps you want and add more the longer you own the vehicle,? he said. ?You aren’t stuck with the two to three apps the car company chose for you.?
Further blurring the lines between software for cars and smart phones, GM and AT&T co-sponsored a Hackathon for developers in Las Vegas to create car-specific apps.
?When the three-hour Hackathon was announced, we had 1,000 people register,? Fosgard said. ?It was packed. What does that tell you? I think we are onto something here.?
Something so hot that GM plans to do the unthinkable and offer car apps across its brands on 2014 model cars and trucks. Fosgard declined to say which models and when.
?This will redefine what a car is and does and why people want one,? he said.
Ford also announced at CES that had opened its SYNCAppLink system connectivity system to individually branded apps. What?s more, Southfield-based JacApps has been named Ford?s house developer for the project.
The AppLink technology was launched in 2010, said Scott Burnell, a mobile business development analyst for Ford. It allows Blackberry, iPhone or Android-based phones to run approved applications while driving, by locking the device’s screen and transferring control to the car’s steering wheel buttons or through voice command.
The idea behind the move to open up the Sync AppLink system is to allow smaller, more local brands, such as well-known programming on local FM or AM channels, a chance to compete with established names like Pandora or NPR. New technologies, some of which have become standard equipment in cars, have diminished the audiences of traditional radio stations.
JacApps will develop and program an app to work in the Sync system for any client, often at a cost of $20,000 to $30,000. Developers also can go to Ford?s website, download the software and figure out how to do it themselves.
Ford and Glympse unveiled what they call the first location-sharing app for SYNC. Using the AppLink system, users of Sync and Glympse will now be able to share their location with family and friends directly from their car using voice commands. To use Glympse, drivers need the app installed on an Apple iOS or Android-based smart phone.
Ford also announced an update to its Microsoft-powered in-car entertainment and connectivity platform and MyFord Touch interface, which will make its debut in the 2014 Ford Fiesta. The updated SYNC in the Fiesta will feature a new 6.5-inch LCD touch screen, a smarter voice recognition system with improved accuracy and a more natural way to engage with it thanks to a flattened audio command structure. Ford has delivered more than five million SYNC-enabled vehicles in the past decade.
Glympse also is offering the same capabilities through Mercedes-Benz. Glympse will be integrated into the new Digital DriveStyle application, set to launch in the new A-Class in September. Drivers can select an application, select a recipient, set a timer, and ?send a Glympse? to anyone they choose. The recipient of the Glympse will receive a text or email link, which will show the driver?s real-time location on an interactive map.
Chrysler offers its own brand of Infoentertainment through the UConnect platform. The Bluetooth enabled technology allows customers to connect using phones with voice recognition. Uconnect also allows drivers to easily adjust seat or cabin temperature, select a new music station or make a call without taking their eyes from the road. Uconnect displays real-time traffic speed and flow information to assist drivers in routing around congested areas. It also connects passengers with an endless variety of entertainment options?from e-mail via Wi-Fi, to movies, games and music. Christensen said UConnect will be installed on the Fiat 500L in the second half of 2013.
?UConnect has evolved every year since we launched it in 2003,? said Joni Christensen, head of UConnect Marketing. ?You can make phone calls, use navigation, all kinds of media folks want to enjoy, including satellite radio. UConnect allows drivers to bring their smart phones into the car and stream Pandora, Slacker, IHeartRadio and Aha. But for us, the most important priority is to keep the driver?s hands on the wheel and stay focused on driving while accessing information.?
Christensen said UConnect still includes mechanical knobs and buttons for those that want to digest their technology at a slower pace.
?We?re bringing more technology into the vehicle, but we?re not forcing big behavioral changes for drivers,? she said. ?Our cars have built in connections to work hand-in-hand with customer?s smart phones.?
But another analyst, Thilo Koslowsky, Vice President and Automotive Practice Leader for Gartner Group, said he thinks it will be model year 2017 ? available in three years ? before the majority of consumers will make the availability of Infoentertainment systems a reason to buy competing vehicles. He said for premium brands such as Cadillac, Audi and Mercedes, ?we?re there now.?
Koslowsky calls it lifestyle convergence. Cars are becoming the ultimate mobile device.
?They take their smart phones with them wherever they go,? he said. ?They want to stay connected, have their favorite music and content streamed from the Internet, while in the car.?
But he won?t declare any automaker the leader. What he does like is the Cadillac Cue Technology, a system designed for autos, not smart phones. It features a dashboard display that allows the driver to press icons to activate audio, nav, phone, climate control, Pandora, Weather, Onstar and more. He also likes Audi?s in-vehicle approach that features Google maps. The key to future success is which automakers take the ability that consumers now have on smart phones and convert it to the most meaningful in-vehicle experience.
?Not how many but what unique applications you can get into the car,? he said. ?Should there be an app for that in the auto industry?that should be the question. Now everyone is fishing for the next big thing and trying to cram as many apps as possible into a car.?
Certainly, app developers have a much bigger screen on which to build their products in a car, he said. Cars also have multiple screens. They have sensors built in. He sees a future where the car can sense the driver?s mood and play music to, say, relieve stress. He also says Facebook updates make sense in cars. Listening to Internet radio does too. So does map updates that alert drivers when parking spaces become available.
Before the end of this decade, Koslowsky predicts, there will be self-driving cars on the road, a driverless taxi system of sorts. That, he said, could change the car buying paradigm dramatically, perhaps more so than the debate over the connected car today.
?If a car drives itself, how do automakers differentiate the driving experience, a big factor in buying decisions today,? he said. ?If a car picks me up and drops me off, why do I need to even buy a car? Cars just become another public transportation vehicle for getting someone from point A to point B.?
Mike Brennan is senior technology writer at MIBiz. His day job is Editor & Publisher of MITechNews.Com.
