Smart Cars for the Smartphone Generation

Automakers are taking their cues from smartphones, incorporating new services and features that work with a quick tap or swipe. The technologies being bundled into today’s vehicles are turning ordinary cars into smart cars.

We spend a lot of time on our mobile devices these days and automakers have taken note, rolling out connected cars that make it easy to do nearly everything from your phone.

“We all enjoy those kinds of experiences wherein you want something and by the push of a button, everything gets taken care of for you. You do not have to go here and there and piece a bunch of things together by yourself,” said Jim Buczkowski, director of Ford electronics systems.

Ford recently introduced FordPass, a mobile platform that lets car owners access services like finding and paying for a parking spot.

Over at Buick, the OnStar RemoteLink app connects owners to their cars no matter how far away they are.

"This car in Detroit, I could start from here in New York. Or let us say I have the only key to it and my wife in Detroit needs to get in the car, I can unlock it for her from here," said Stuart Fowle, manager of Buick communications.

The feature harnesses the car's 4G LTE connectivity. Up to seven mobile devices can connect to it at any given time.

“We want people to feel as if they are at home within the car... Which a lot of people want to be in just for the driving experience, now they can be in there as well for the connectivity experience," explained Rob Peterson, marketing manager for Buick crossovers.

But what does that connectivity mean for your privacy?

“It is important to have personal information to create that individualized, personalized experience, but certainly it will be a customer’s option," said Buczkowski.

For certain consumers, it may not even be an issue.

“There certainly is a factor where a younger consumer is much more comfortable giving up a lot more privacy and data than an older consumer is, and more likely than not, you are going to see a similar behavior to how they handle their personal privacy ... within the vehicle,” said Stephanie Brinley, a senior analyst with IHS Automotive.

Considering how capable our mobile devices have become, perhaps the only question left to answer is: "Who’s driving?"

汽车制造厂商在不断地从智能手机的使用上获取灵感，不断增加新的便利功能。这些新科技让普通的汽车越来越往智能化方向发展。

大家现在都把很多时间花在手机上，这一点，汽车制造厂商也注意到了，并且化为行动，让汽车和手机之间的纽带日益紧密。

福特汽车公司电子工程主任布兹考斯基说：“我们大家都喜欢‘点击一下，什么都好了’这样的系统和功能，省得这儿去那儿去的把你想要的功能结合起来。”

福特汽车公司最近就推出了FordPass这样一个移动平台，让车主可以用手机来寻找停车位并且支付停车费。

在别克车上，他们推出的新的应用让车主甚至能够从另外的城市遥控汽车。

别克汽车公司的福勒说：“车在底特律，我可以从纽约启动它；这么说吧：车钥匙在我这儿，我太太人在底特律，需要进到汽车里拿东西，但是钥匙只有我有；我人在纽约，照样可以帮她打开车门。”

这一功能的依据是汽车的4G LTE互联性，它能够让多达七个手机或其他移动器材同时跟它联系上。

别克汽车公司的彼得森说：“我们希望客户能够在车里感觉就像在家一样；如今他们坐在汽车里，也可以感觉到跟各方面都保持着联系。”

不过，联通性这么发达，是不是隐私就少了呢？

福特汽车公司的布兹考斯基说：“要提供这种个性化的体验，就必须有个人的信息。当然，这种取舍要由客户自己做出决定。”

对某些消费者来说，者并不是问题。

HIS公司高级分析师布琳利说：“现在的年轻人不像年纪大一些的用户那么在意隐私，或者是信息的分享，车里车外都是一样。”

现在的手机有很多功能，只要搞清楚“要看是谁开车“的问题，其他问题就都好办了。