Automatic Launches Innovative Smart Driving Assistant that Connects Your Car to Your iPhone

Automatic (http://automatic.com) today launched an iPhone app and a tiny piece of intelligent hardware called the Automatic Link that connects your iPhone to your cars onboard computer when you drive. Automatic is a smart driving assistant that helps you save gas, drive safer and understand what’s happening under the hood. It also remembers where you parked and can automatically call for help in a crash. The Automatic Link retails for $69.95 and is available for pre-order at automatic.com today, shipping in May. The Automatic app and service are free.

Cars are the second largest expense in most people’s lives, the average American family spending more than $8,000 on their car every year (1). Studies have shown that with small adjustment to driving habits, consumers can save up to 35 percent per year on gas (2). Automatic makes it possible for consumers to gain valuable insight into how they drive and learn how to make small changes to their driving habits that can have a big impact on fuel efficiency.

“Smartphones and the internet have transformed our day-to-day lives, but our cars and how we drive them have been left behind. We’re focused on changing that,” says Thejo Kote, chief executive officer and co-founder of Automatic. “We believe that the smartphone can, in effect, upgrade millions of cars on the road today, and offer drivers features only available in high-end cars with expensive service plans.”

Automatic’s Key Features and Benefits:

• Your Drive Score: Automatic gives you personalized feedback on your driving with your weekly drive score on a scale from 0-100. The drive score is based on metrics shown to increase fuel efficiency and safety, like braking and accelerating smoothly. A high score could save you hundreds on gas every year.

• Your Trips in a Timeline: The Automatic app displays detailed information about where you go and how much gas it cost to get there. It shows you the actual MPGs you achieve for all your trips, even for older cars that dont display fuel efficiency on the dashboard.

• Parking Reminders: Automatic always knows where you parked your car, helping you find it again easily.

• Crash Alert: If youre ever in a crash, Automatic alerts emergency services with your location. It can even contact your loved ones to let them know what happened and that help is on the way.

• Keep Your Engine Healthy: Automatic connects with your cars computer whenever you drive and can tell you why that check engine light came on. It can decode the problem and in many cases offer a solution. The app even lets you clear the light yourself and save a trip to the mechanic.

“We designed Automatic to be affordable and work effortlessly. Theres no data to input manually or subscription to pay. After the initial set-up, all you have to do is bring your phone with you when you drive and everything works, well, automatically,” says Ljuba Miljkovic, chief product officer at Automatic.

How Automatic Works: Three Easy Steps:

• Download the Automatic App: Open the App Store app on your iPhone and download the Automatic app for free. Available once the Automatic Link ships in May.

• Plug-in the Automatic Link: Automatic is simple to use in your car. Just plug the Automatic Link into your cars onboard diagnostics port, available on all cars sold in the US since 1996. The port is usually located below the steering wheel by the foot pedals. The Automatic app guides you through this process.

• Start Driving: After setup, the Automatic Link seamlessly connects to the iPhone app via Bluetooth wireless whenever you drive the Automatic app need not even be open for it to work. Automatic is currently compatible with the iPhone 4S and 5.

For more information, visit:
http://www.automatic.com

Notes:

(1) Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 Consumer Expenditure Survey, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/standard/2011/income.txt

(2) U.S. Department of Energy Study, http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drivehabits.shtml