This article's title was a bit misleading.... I was expecting to see some pics of the interior of the car or something. Still, this integration with smartphones is a good move. (And yes, GM needs to quickly ramp up security precautions too. If they're venturing into networking a car with other devices, it requires the same knowledge and attention to information security the rest of us in I.T. have to practice.)
My concern with the Volt is, it won't be that successful because its price-point still won't justify it. "Under $40,000" isn't saying much. The most I've *ever* spent on a new car was just a little over the $30K mark, and the monthly payments on that really hurt.
I'm sure there will be a crowd of relatively wealthy early-adopters who buy a Volt just to say they've got the latest technology (or to feel good about going Green). But GM needs to get a critical mass of these cars on the road quickly, if they want to see places invest in quick-charging stations in their parking lots and so on. This price point won't accomplish that.
GM is showing off its new electric car this week at Google I/O — Google’s annual developer conference in San Francisco — in honor of the Volt’s new Android app.
Soon you’ll be able to use your Android phone (or your iPhone) to have GM locate your car in case it’s stolen or you forget where you parked it. GM will be collecting data on your car — tire pressure, fuel economy, the state of its charge, whether you forgot to plug it in — and send you updates on your phone.
You’ll be able to use your phone to schedule a charge, ideally at night when power prices are lowest, and, with the proper security clearance (a pin), remotely start your car. That way the car will be warmed up when you’re ready to go and you won’t waste battery power, which in the Volt will carry you for the first 40 miles.
There’s enough software in the Volt to give people who worry about hacking (see my post yesterday on the security researchers who hacked a car) pause. GM OnStar’s Nick Pudar said that while he believes these researchers committed “a serious crime,” he understands their point and GM takes security seriously.
One area where GM is being cautious is voice recognition, he said — it has to be good enough that drivers aren’t distracted. Addresses are easier to handle than points of interest because they’re more concrete.GM is also consolidating all the different voice recognition and bluetooth and other applications it’s used over the years to make its car systems work better together.
The Volt is due in the fall and is likely to get a good test because it may sell for under $40,000, according to sources close to GM. That would make it one of the most affordable electric cars so far.
