Hook that car up with latest in tech
From Wi-Fi hot spots to autodial 911, our vehicles are more connected than ever
Technology is an amazing thing. It’s allowed us to be more connected and yet more mobile than ever before.
It’s also making our lives easier and safer, especially where cars are concerned. These days, our vehicles can help us keep in touch and stay productive even when we’re behind the wheel, and they can also alert us to danger and even call for help.
Here are five cool things today’s cars can do that make drivers’ lives a lot easier out on the road.
Fully integrate with your smartphone. Smartphone app functionality is rocketing to the top of the priority list for many prospective car buyers. It’s not unusual these days to hear someone decide whether to buy a car based on whether Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto are avail- able options. And it’s no wonder: both apps make it easier than ever to stay connected to loved ones or colleagues, avoid horrific traffic jams, or listen to your own music on the go.
Unfortunately, there’s no rhyme or reason to figuring out whether the car you’re eyeing will have the app integration you’re looking for. Nearly all automakers are at some stage in the process of rolling these out, but some are a lot further down the road than others. The easiest way to check against your shopping list is to visit the websites for each app that list their participating marques and applicable models: Apple CarPlay’s is at apple.com/ca/ios/carplay/availablemodels/, and Android Auto’s is at android.com/intl/en_ca/auto/.
Create a Wi-Fi hot spot. How do you keep teenagers happy on long drives? A car-integrated Wi-Fi hot spot is probably as close to an answer as you’ll get. There are third-party devices that will let you do this, but they’re rarely as easy to work with as pressing a button on your infotain- ment screen.
Many automotive brands offer this functionality either through an accessory, a built-in device that accepts a SIM card, or a connected smartphone. Vehicles in the General Motors family (Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac) stand out by connecting to the Internet via the OnStar communication system, which allows for separate data usage tracking and billing that can be more costeffective than mobile data plans.
Remote drop rear headrests. Sometimes it’s the little things. You drop a mob of kids off at hockey practice and head back out because it’s your turn to do the coffee run, but someone put the headrests up and now you can hardly see out of your rear-view mirror. Then you climb back in with three trays of coffee, drive off, and look up only to realize you forgot to fix it when you were stopped. A front-seat button would be much easier, right?
This is an overlooked safety feature that is found only on a couple of cars: it’s available on the Dodge Durango and the Volvo XC90 (though the latter folds only the second-row remotely, not the third). It’s amazing that it’s not more common because the scenario certainly is.
Autodial 911. This feature isn’t discussed nearly as often as it should be given the direct role it can play in saving lives. If your phone is connected to a compatible infotainment system and the car detects a crash, 911 will be dialed automatically without any human intervention required.