MacRumors Giveaway: Win an Automatic Adapter or Get a 20% Discount

[MacRumors]

Automatic has partnered with us for our next giveaway, graciously offering one Automatic Adapter that provides information about your car's status and performance and your driving habits via a companion app. The Automatic adapter was first announced in early 2013 with recent updates last year bringing a second-generation adapter with additional functionality and the release of an SDK and App Gallery to allow other apps to use data gathered by the adapter. The Automatic Adapter retails for $99.95

The Automatic Adapter connects to a car via its ODB-II diagnostic port, which is found on most newer cars sold in the US since 1996 (Automatic offers a car compatibility checker on its site). The Adapter gathers information on mileage, gas consumption, and driving performance by analyzing braking and acceleration. It can also check engine warning codes and provide information on what's wrong. If a collision is detected through the Adapter's accelerometer, a Crash Alert is triggered and emergency services can be contacted automatically via the paired smartphone (this feature is available in the US only).

In addition to its own free companion iPhone app [Direct Link] (an Android app is also available), the Automatic Adapter can share its information with other apps in its App Gallery, which includes apps that track mileage for business expense purposes to smart home and fitness applications. For example, a Nest smart thermostat can be triggered to adjust the temperature at home based on your car's location so it automatically warms or cools as you leave or arrive.

To enter to win the Automatic Adapter, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter your email address. Your email address will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and coordinate the delivery of the Adapter. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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This contest will run from today (January 15) at 12:00 pm Pacific time through 12:00 pm Pacific time on January 22. The winner will be chosen randomly on January 22 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address. The prize will be shipped to the winner for free.

Automatic is also offering a discount code to MacRumors readers that will take 20% off all purchases made at the company's online store. MacRumors readers can enter code macrumors20 at checkout to receive the discount.

Article Link: MacRumors Giveaway: Win an Automatic Adapter or Get a 20% Discount

 

[nutmac]

The iOS app is a tad outdated but I love Automatic dongle. I would love another one for my wife's car, so let me win!

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

The iOS app is a tad outdated but I love Automatic dongle. I would love another one for my wife's car, so let me win!

Greedy! You are now disqualified!

 

[shadowbird423]

Greedy! You are now disqualified!

 

[Menel]

The iOS app is a tad outdated but I love Automatic dongle. I would love another one for my wife's car, so let me win!

It's fairly modern and complete. Reflects iOS7/8 design, and AppleWatch.

 

[jclardy]

It's fairly modern and complete. Reflects iOS7/8 design, and AppleWatch.

He probably means outdated as in it hasn't been updated to support iPhone 6/6+ screen resolutions. I just got an automatic - it is pretty cool to be able to see driving costs laid out per trip versus just looking back at gas expenditures.

 

[nutmac]

He probably means outdated as in it hasn't been updated to support iPhone 6/6+ screen resolutions. I just got an automatic - it is pretty cool to be able to see driving costs laid out per trip versus just looking back at gas expenditures.

Exactly. It's not only lack of larger screen size support though. While the app's "driving" motif main UI looks fun at first, it's rather tedious and not all that usable in practice.

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

Exactly. It's not only lack of larger screen size support though. While the app's "driving" motif main UI looks fun at first, it's rather tedious and not all that usable in practice.

I had one since they where in Beta a couple years back and yanked it about six month ago..... I hated how the app judges my driving and gives penalties for hard braking. Like maybe they expect you to just crash into other cars in order to maintain a good milage They must never drive in city traffic.

The final straw was the emails with detailed driving records giving stats about my driving..... Do I really need a company to track that all? and share it with who knows.....

 

[michaelant]

I have one of these, so I'm not looking to win. But it's a pretty cool gadget. Having it automatically calculate cost per trips (it uses gas price on days you fill up, you don't need to do anything) is very nice. I actually had occasion for it to tell me that the check engine light was just a loose gas cap, which I might have guessed, but really nice to know for sure.

 

[doctor-don]

It's OBD-II, not ODB.

 

[WigWag Workshop]

Always wanted something like this, since I driver an older car.

 

[Tummy]

We had two in the past, but these don't work with electric cars and they don't appear to have any interest in making a version that does. I was a kickstarter contributor. We have since traded our gas cars for two BMW i3s and a Smart ED. Plugging the Automatic dongle in causes all sorts of things to go haywire. The trip tracking and commute analysis were very handy when it worked. We tracked over 700 commute trips and found the best time to leave for work and come back home.

 

[gertruded]

And the data will be used against you in a court of law. This is a big brother device.

 

[NightFox]

And the data will be used against you in a court of law. This is a big brother device.

Good. That's one less entrant = better chance for everyone else. Or is this some Machiavellian plan to try to stop people entering and increase your chances of winning?

FWIW most of the data in question is already recorded in a modern car's own systems anyway, and can be recovered in the case of a serious accident or under a court order, so I'm not sure your Big Brother concern is really a valid one.

 

[aarond12]

The Automatic devices are great and their software and support are excellent. It doesn't, however, work with electric vehicles, so keep that in mind if you happen to drive an EV.

 

[name99]

I had one since they where in Beta a couple years back and yanked it about six month ago..... I hated how the app judges my driving and gives penalties for hard braking. Like maybe they expect you to just crash into other cars in order to maintain a good milage They must never drive in city traffic.

The final straw was the emails with detailed driving records giving stats about my driving..... Do I really need a company to track that all? and share it with who knows.....

Well it depends on how you view the app. If you view it as NAGGING you, then I guess you'll be upset. I view it as REMINDING me, and I'm glad that it pipes up when I edge over 70 by mistake, or when I accelerate a little too fast. I guess it's a psychological stance as to whether you naturally view comment as criticism or as feedback.

Likewise I LIKE the stats about driving. They're hardly essential, but it's interesting to look back and see the spikes when you went on long trips or whatever.

And the bread-and-butter stuff like parking location, or helping understand/clear engine complaints, remain useful.
[doublepost=1453145929][/doublepost]

The Automatic devices are great and their software and support are excellent. It doesn't, however, work with electric vehicles, so keep that in mind if you happen to drive an EV.

Seriously? Is that because EV's don't have to include an ODB-2 port? Or because nothing interesting is dumped on the ODB-2 port?
Or because they don't cut off the power to the 12V electrical outlet when you switch the car off?

I would imagine (at least until various specs are updated) that it obviously can't/won't track your gas usage and engine faults! But I'd assume it would still track your location/speed, and (you'd hope) at some point it will read the equivalent of gas usage (eg joules/trip) and report things like battery conditioning?

 

[aarond12]

Seriously? Is that because EV's don't have to include an ODB-2 port? Or because nothing interesting is dumped on the ODB-2 port? Or because they don't cut off the power to the 12V electrical outlet when you switch the car off?

I would imagine (at least until various specs are updated) that it obviously can't/won't track your gas usage and engine faults! But I'd assume it would still track your location/speed, and (you'd hope) at some point it will read the equivalent of gas usage (eg joules/trip) and report things like battery conditioning?

I tried it in two different EVs -- a Mitsubishi i-MiEV and a Nissan LEAF. Nothing is reported because it uses things that the EV doesn't report, such as engine RPMs. Without that information, the app won't even accept that the car is "running". EVs, like gas-powered cars, do have ODBII ports and keep the 12V line active on the port, but the fundamental differences keep the Automatic software from working properly.

Other vehicle-specific applications (e.g., CanION and LEAFspy for the i-MiEV and LEAF respectively) can read the EV-specific parameters from the ODBII port. Automatic doesn't do that.

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

Well it depends on how you view the app. If you view it as NAGGING you, then I guess you'll be upset. I view it as REMINDING me, and I'm glad that it pipes up when I edge over 70 by mistake, or when I accelerate a little too fast. I guess it's a psychological stance as to whether you naturally view comment as criticism or as feedback.

Likewise I LIKE the stats about driving. They're hardly essential, but it's interesting to look back and see the spikes when you went on long trips or whatever.

And the bread-and-butter stuff like parking location, or helping understand/clear engine complaints, remain useful.

I'm sure it is useful for many people but I am not interested in a Nanny/Supervisor app that keeps a constant score and judges my driving..... I would like to have a clear log of all my trips with stats like MPH/ distance etc. that I can look at in DB form without having to go to a web site or having a third party to store all this.

This app is mainly centered on the driving score.....

 

[MacMikePro]

Oooooooooooooooooooh that's what I'm talking about! This is literally the single thing I would want to win the most. I've wanted one of these ever since they were first announced, and since I didn't win $1.5 billion last week I figured you guys could make it up to me with this contest. come on come on come on come on come on come on *shakes dice*

 

[gimikinc]

And the data will be used against you in a court of law. This is a big brother device.

Isn't that the truth!!!!

Received an end of year report from Automatic...the tracking and potential re-use of data lessens the usefulness.

They also have a 70mph max speed before it starts subtracting from the overall economy/efficiency. As there are several highways over 70. (Not talking the warning when you go over 70, but how they calculate your driving score).

With a Subaru Crosstrek XV I always get better mpg than automatic states. So, the usefulness is now more of a error code reader or to reset.

 

[mikeydeezy]

I've been eyeballing this for quite a while. I sure do hope I win.