DocAndersen
<a href="https://www.mercedes-benz.com/de/mercedes-benz/lifestyle/lifestyle-uebersicht/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>
First of all, I acknowledge I am a huge geek. That said, there are some technology solutions that when they appear, I am excited by them. One of those is one I was playing with yesterday, Mercedes Me. Connected cars save you time, but they present a fairly large problem as well. We’ve all seen the many Youtube videos of someone seizing control of a moving car remotely.
That said, the value proposition is also high. First off, the days of locking your keys in your car are over, unless of course, you also lock your phone in the car. Then you just call Mercedes (or Ford’s InSync, or Chevy’s program) and they will remotely unlock your car.
The ability to, on a cold Washington DC morning in the winter, to start my car without leaving the warmth of the fireplace and while holding a cup of coffee and looking forlornly out at the driveway full of snow that I have to have my sons clear, is a relaxing thought. A future security suggestion was far as keys, is make the phone your key. But, it should only work if the phone is logged in, not at the lock screen and activated when the person approaches the car. Otherwise, don’t allow the person into the car!
The connection has an amazing potential, but like all things, make your password effective. Simply sitting at home, and realizing you don’t know where your meeting is, and emailing the address to your car is a huge time saver. Having weather, traffic and Sirius radio stations in the car helps you get to that meeting rested, relaxed on on time, avoiding traffic (unless you have to cross a bridge in DC then well, sorry).
I will do a review on cars and connections and in Particular a review of the fantastic Mercedes Me application later. For now, I am still thinking through the overall concept of connection and the risks that presents.
