Image Courtesy of Audi

To offer “transparency” Audi is rolling out a 2-way audio/video system to be used to support direct communication between customers and technicians. This will be used in England first and is marketed as “Direct Reception”. For the details, read the official Audi press release below.

Audi’s official press release follows:

NEW ‘DIRECT RECEPTION’ SYSTEM GIVES INSIGHT INTO THE MECHANICS OF AUDI

Pioneering new interactive audio visual system enables Audi customers to watch and communicate with Audi technicians as they work

• AudiDirect Reception system allowing customers to be more closely involved in work undertaken on their cars is currently being rolled out across Audi Centre network

• Technician wears ‘Audi Cam’ which links to monitor in service reception, and communicates via two-way audio link

• Aim is to maximise ‘transparency’ and instil even greater confidence by providing conclusive proof of problems in ‘real time’

• Fixed price servicing option now in place for A1 models

• Fixed price for five key maintenance jobs for A3, A4, A6 and TT models in excess of 36 months old and up to 2.0-litres in capacity

Candid cameras will soon be focused on all Audi Centre service areas as part of a new Direct Reception initiative being rolled out across the network that will enable Audi customers to view in ‘real time’, and communicate with, technicians as they carry out diagnosis and repair work.

From the comfort of the Audi Centre reception area customers will have direct audio visual access to their cars as they are worked on by technicians equipped with ‘Audi Cams’ and two-way audio links. They will be free to talk to the technicians directly, and service advisors will be on hand to answer any questions that arise. The aim is to provide full exposure to the investigative and corrective work undertaken, maximising ‘transparency’ and instilling even greater confidence not only in the legitimacy of each diagnosis but also the quality of workmanship demonstrated by Audi trained technicians.

Customer feedback from Direct Reception pilot schemes has been overwhelmingly positive, with all participants polled so far confirming that they would recommend the service to others.

Commenting on the new initiative, Director of Audi UK Jeremy Hicks said: “Service departments throughout the industry are often accused of baffling customers with science – by offering ours full exposure to the work undertaken on their cars, and the ability to talk through that work with the technician involved, our aim is to demystify the process as fully as possible. We want to ensure that everyone who entrusts their Audi to us for servicing and repairs knows exactly where they stand and exactly what to expect.”

As well as offering a straightforward, substantiated prognosis on the condition of every car, Audi Centres can also provide the added reassurance of fixed price maintenance to owners of A3, A4, A6 and TT models that are over 36 months old and powered by engines of up to (and including) 2.0-litres in capacity. Seven of the tasks carried out most frequently to these cars are covered by a fixed, all-inclusive and highly competitive price that applies nationally.

The tasks include major and minor services (£249 and £99 respectively), clutch replacement (front-wheel-drive £599, quattro £799), front and rear brake pad replacement (£99 front, £99 rear), front and rear pad and disc replacement (£229), front wiper blade replacement (£39), brake fluid change (£49) and cambelt replacement (£349).

Fixed price service plan for A1 customers

Buyers of the new Audi A1 premium compact hatchback can also specify an optional fixed price service plan which, for a one-off payment of just £250 (when the car is programmed to adhere to the long life service regime), will leave them safe in the knowledge that their servicing needs are covered financially for the first five years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first).

All scheduled servicing, including brake fluid changes, is taken care of over this period, and any labour and parts (excluding items subject to wear and tear) involved are covered by a two-year Audi warranty.

Online service booking

Servicing for all Audi models can now be booked online by visiting www.audi.co.uk and clicking on ‘owners area’.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

smart USA Distributor LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: PAG), is showcasing the smart drive app for the iPhone through an interactive exhibit at the 2010 New York Auto Show. Working with engineers at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. in Silicon Valley, smart is the first car brand to develop its own drive app. Together with an iPhone cradle that is specifically designed for smart, the smart drive app will turn the iPhone into a connected media and navigation hub for smart fortwo owners and enthusiasts.

Introduced at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, the smart drive app makes urban mobility even easier and more fun – the objective of smart’s philosophy. Two new elements developed by smart make the two-seater car and the iPhone an ideal combination:

• The smart cradle for the iPhone with an integrated microphone and control unit serves as a stylish and functional holder, converting the lifestyle device into a multi-functional smart fortwo companion. It charges the iPhone and functions as a hands-free system using the smart’s built-in audio system for sound output and automatically muting it when phone calls are made. At the New York Auto Show, the cradle is shown in the smart fortwo BRABUS tailor made, a special concept car designed to resemble the iPhone’s color theme of black and chrome.
• The smart drive app for the iPhone combines all the features needed on the road in a single app with extra-large buttons and letters – hands-free phone calls, management of the phone’s music collection, internet radio and a clever navigation system with a special smart touch. It also features smart extras such as the Car Finder that will guide users back to wherever they parked their car.

Really smart – the clever app from smart

Listen to music, make phone calls and find destinations easily – the smart drive app for the iPhone makes city driving even easier and more pleasurable.

Media
Not only can users enjoy their entire personal music collection with the app, they can listen to thousands of radio stations and podcasts from around the world, thanks to an integrated web radio function. The ID Song function of the app enables users to obtain the title, artist, album and cover art of songs heard on the AM/FM or internet radio.

Phone
The hands-free system and all important functions needed to make phone calls are automatically available as soon as the device is put in the smart cradle. Keypad, contacts, favorites, call lists and other phone functions are clearly arranged for simple in-car use.

Map
The basic version of the app shows the vehicle’s position on a map of the area (“Follow-me maps”) and supports search for points of interest by using the on-board database or via Microsoft Bing. A navigation upgrade turns the device into a full navigation system without being online. In addition, the navigation service comes with real-time information on traffic conditions as well as fuel prices for nearby gas stations.

Assist
With the Car Finder, the phone automatically remembers where users parked their car when it is removed from the cradle, and features Google 411, a free call to find and connect to a business. The app also uses the GPS function of the device for roadside assistance – the driver can give his or her precise position directly to the smart hotline.

Cost and Availability

The smart drive kit for the iPhone will be available in the second quarter of 2010. The smart cradle will be available from smart dealers (pricing TBD), and the smart drive app can be downloaded from the iTunes app store for a one-time cost of $9.99. Consumers can purchase the navigation upgrade for a fee of $49.99 per year.

FORD ADDS GOOGLE MAPS ‘SEND TO SYNC’ SERVICE TO BEAM DRIVING DIRECTIONS INTO CAR; NO EXTRA COST

• Ford adds Google Maps to its ‘Send to SYNC’ feature, allowing drivers to send destinations from Google Maps to their Ford vehicle through the cloud-based SYNC® Traffic, Directions & Information (TDI) app
• Drivers download destination information into the vehicle via their Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones; the information will be processed into audible turn-by-turn directions, eliminating the need to bring printed maps into the car and helping drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road
• ‘Send to SYNC’ launches later this month and will be available for existing 2010-11 models equipped with SYNC TDI; no extra hardware, software updates or costs are required

DEARBORN, Mich., June 8, 2010 – Drivers who enjoy the convenience of Ford SYNC® with Traffic, Directions & Information (TDI) soon will be able to select a destination on Google Maps and send it to their Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicles.

‘Send to SYNC’ is a new capability added to the Ford Service Delivery Network, the company’s cloud-based architecture, which provides a suite of voice-activated services accessible through a customer’s mobile phone.

“Printing paper directions from a website is a relic in our digital age,” said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford Connected Services Solutions Organization. “With Send to SYNC, you can map a destination at home, at work – wherever you have connectivity – and when you get to your car, it already knows where you want to go. It’s convenient and it eliminates the waste and distraction of paper maps, conserving resources while helping drivers keep their eyes on the road.”

The SYNC TDI application leverages a customer’s mobile phone voice plan and the vehicle’s integrated GPS receiver to deliver location-based services, such as driving directions or business searches, and on-demand information such as horoscopes, news, movie listings and stock quotes. Since these services, including the new Send to SYNC functionality, are cloud-based, no vehicle updates are required and they will be available to all owners who have registered for TDI services through www.syncmyride.com.

When users visit Google Maps on the web to find locations, they will have the option to send a selected destination to their Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle via a “send” menu on the site. Once in the vehicle, the driver connects to SYNC TDI using the “Services” voice command, and when prompted, confirms the request to download the Google Maps destination into the vehicle.

The optimal route is calculated in the cloud using the latest traffic information, downloaded to the vehicle and navigation guidance begins. If the vehicle is equipped with a map-based navigation system, the destination point is downloaded directly to that system, which then calculates the route based on the in-vehicle navigation preferences set by the driver.

“Our cloud-based service network is helping deliver constant improvement for our customers, and has become a key reason why Ford leads the industry with SYNC,” said VanDagens. “We’re proud to be working with Google to bring this new capability to SYNC.”

The Google Maps ‘Send to SYNC’ capability launches later this month. Ford is currently the only automaker offering this capability without requiring a paid subscription to a telematics service.

Ford previously announced the same feature for MapQuest (owned by AOL), which will launch later this year.

Identifix® Releases New Factory Scheduled Maintenance Feature in Direct-Hit™

ST. PAUL, MN, May 26, 2010 – Identifix®, (www.identifix.com) one of the
nation’s premier sources of online and hotline vehicle diagnostic, maintenance and repair
information, announced today the release of its new Factory Scheduled Maintenance™
(FSM) program in Direct-Hit™. The Identifix Direct-Hit FSM feature is designed to
access original equipment manufacturers’ recommended maintenance activities based on
specific year, make, model and mileage situations. With extensive coverage through
2010 model years, this new offering will enable automotive repair shops that perform
vehicle maintenance services to provide factory recommended maintenance schedules to
their customers in under a minute, even for the most complex versions. For more
information or to take a Test Drive of the new feature, visit www.identifix.com and select
the Try Direct-Hit link.

Unlike traditional mileage-based maintenance schedules, which focus on
recommended services based on “normal” or “severe” conditions, Identifix’s new
generation of preventive maintenance plans provide a broader and more robust set of
information for vehicle maintenance. Direct-Hit’s FSM delivers factory information for
Maintenance Minders, time driven schedules and multiple versions of schedules based on
special operating conditions.

For example, the 2007 Buick Lucerne combines dashboard Maintenance Minders
with mileage for preventive maintenance service. When service is required, the
technician must address the illuminated vehicle Maintenance Minder (Maintenance I or
Maintenance II) and consult the factory recommended mileage service information.
Using Identifix’s Factory Scheduled Maintenance feature, technicians no longer have to
look up Maintenance Minders and the factory recommended service tasks in multiple
locations. Direct-Hit maintains this information in one location.

And, since not all manufacturers provide vehicle recommended maintenance the
same way, Identifix has adapted the FSM program to support all systems. For example,
Ford recommends ‘more is better’ for vehicle maintenance. When servicing a 2007 Ford
F-150 the shop must determine what ‘Special Operating Conditions’ apply to the vehicle
and select all that apply. This impacts the maintenance items and recommended time for
next service. Since each ‘Special Operating Condition’ has its own maintenance schedule
and mileage, the shop could be presenting five different maintenance schedules to the car
owner. The new Direct-Hit FSM feature quickly sorts through the various maintenance
schedules, thus eliminating the opportunity to overwhelm the customer with too many
service plans to manage. Direct-Hit provides the customer with one complete
maintenance schedule in language they can understand and follow.

“We know when customers drop off or pick up their vehicles they just want to get in
and out. So unless the shop can record the vehicle mileage, get answers to some questions
and put the correct list of maintenance activities in the customer’s hands fast, they risk
missing an opportunity for additional business,” said Jeff Sweet, Identifix President. “At
Identifix, we build our products to help technicians streamline their daily workflows. The
updated Factory Scheduled Maintenance feature in Direct-Hit will make a huge
difference. We are excited to offer shops the ability to provide customers with timely,
reliable and trustworthy maintenance schedules in seconds,” Sweet added.

Direct-Hit is Identifix’s subscription-based online diagnostic resource offering realworld,
proven diagnostic and fix information. It was developed from over 3.6 million
Identifix Repair Hotline calls to the company’s staff of over 45 ASE Master L1+ Carline
Specialists. Direct-Hit delivers more than 380,000 Hotline Archives that contain
symptoms, associated short-cut tests and confirmed fixes. Direct-Hit is updated with over
6,000 new entries added to the database each month.

Direct-Hit enables technicians to perform repairs profitably and accept repair services
on jobs that otherwise might have been turned away. The company also serves as a
content supplier to Microsoft’s MSN.Auto web site, providing data on used vehicle
reliability and reparability.

About Identifix:
Identifix® is a wholly owned subsidiary of Service Repair Solutions, Inc. (SRS)
www.servicerepairsolutions.com, which Inc. Magazine ranked in 2009 as the 63rd fastest
growing independent software company in the United States. Since 1987, Identifix has
evolved into the nation’s best source for knowledge of what breaks on vehicles, what
vehicles it breaks on, and how to fix those vehicles correctly. The knowledge base is
created from data gathered from the more than 250,000 annual calls it receives from
technicians seeking diagnostic assistance for vehicle repair problems; its staff of 45
master technicians (with over 1,000 years combined years of experience performing
vehicle diagnostics); and the nation’s most comprehensive on-site library of factory
vehicle service information. Identifix products and services include: Repair Hotline™,
Direct-Hit™, Repair Trac™, and consulting services to automotive equipment
manufacturers. For more information visit: www.identifix.com

I have seen the future of computing technology in cars, and it’s not coming any time soon.

It is coming, though, and when it arrives, it may very well change the way we deal with information while we’re driving. But because the auto industry moves at a truly snail’s pace when it comes to innovation, it’s likely to be at least five years before this vision comes to pass.

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It is a system that replaces the original radio with a ball-type mount. The iPad pops into a plastic frame that in turn pops on the ball mount.

They also supply a cable that plugs into the iPad and outputs to a USB port (for charging) and a 3.5 mm jack for audio out. The iKit provides a USB and 3.5mm port for the cable.

Take a look at this conversion on a Subaru STi

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