It’s hard to imagine it now, but only 15 years ago, it seemed impossible that we’d be so reliant on our smartphones as we are now. They keep us abreast of news, help us get dates, and let us know when we should be buying or selling. But what about when we’re in our cars? There are dozens of outstanding smartphone apps that revolve around automobiles exclusively, and they make our lives immeasurably easier. If you’re looking for the best around, look no further.
The 5 Best Automotive Smartphone Apps
Waze
We all know what Waze is by this point, but that’s part of what makes it so valuable. By combining the GPS of your typical Google Maps with the immediacy of social media, Waze provides an intuitive, crowd-sourced navigation service that updates on its own with news of accidents, traffic jams or police speed traps. At the same time, it provides turn-by-turn directions, making it the best thing since sliced bread.
Gas Buddy
Have you ever noticed that gas prices can be vastly different in a span of only a few blocks? It isn’t like gas stations are forced to price-match with competitors, so if they can squeeze out a little extra, of course they’ll do it. With Gas Buddy (another crowd-sourced app), you can see all of the prices in your area.
Automatic
This app costs $99 to install initially, but you’ll find that it’s worth every bit of that in the long haul. Automatic will integrate with your vehicle to monitor fuel consumption, performance and cost of travel. It can also be personalized to keep an eye on your driving habits, whether you’ve been riding the brakes to much or speeding, or can even diagnose why a “check engine” light might come on. You’ll pay early, of course, but its ROI is off the charts.
iOnRoad
A good deal of today’s new vehicles are currently equipped with forward collision warnings, which will alert a driver when a car ahead is rapidly slowing down. This app approximates that technology, using your smartphone’s GPS and camera to estimate how much time you’d have to slow down or avoid a vehicle in front of you.
There is no happiness like dog-in-car happiness.
#NationalDogDay
— waze (@waze) August 26, 2016
Read More: Finding the Best Films for Supercar Lovers
Carcorder
Quickly punch “Russian dashcam” into a Youtube search. You’ll quickly see that dashcams are much more common in other countries than they are here, right? However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have your own. The Carcorder acts as a dashcam, shifting between different resolutions, tracking speed and location, and delivering a faithful recreation of your journey.
Between all of these, you can put yourself into a pretty good driving space, smartphone-speaking. Did we miss any that we should try, or any that you think we should avoid? Leave them in the comments below, and come see us soon at Prestige Imports!
