Technology: Plug and Play for Internet Connections

Far too often, drivers of older vehicles try to add the services available in new Internet-connected cars by balancing smartphones in their laps. But smartphones — aside from the obvious distraction they present — cannot do things like monitor the car’s location when someone else is using it or send a maintenance reminder based on miles traveled.

One solution is the Audiovox Car Connection kit, a device that went on sale at the end of last year, which tracks the car and monitors the driver.

No screwdrivers or wrenches are needed for installation. The $169.99 package includes a matchbox-size device that simply plugs into the OBD-II port, a required feature of vehicles built since 1996. It has a built-in GPS unit and a two-way cellular data connection, so the car is always connected, no smartphone required.

Once an account is established and the unit is wirelessly recognized by the Car Connection service, owners can track their car’s movements and receive e-mail or text alerts should the vehicle be driven without their permission. Anxious parents can also designate up to five so-called safety zones on the Car Connection Web site; any time the vehicle leaves those specified areas, an alert is sent.

To aid a driver who’s having a momentary memory lapse, the unit automatically notes the car’s location each time it is parked; auto and owner can be reunited using an associated free smartphone app.

Because it’s connected to the diagnostic port, the Car Connection device will also deliver plain-English explanations for any Check Engine warnings to the owner’s account. Nothing went awry during my test.

Car Connection aims to make drivers better by monitoring their habits. I received several “driver scoring notification” e-mails expressing dismay at my excessive speed; the speed warning is set at 75 miles an hour and cannot be changed. To enforce discipline on drivers who can’t resist texting or making calls, a ZoomSafer function can be set to block communications, with three specific number exceptions on BlackBerry or Android phones.

Because the Car Connection uses its own cellular link, it requires a subscription — $10 a month or $90 for a year — and a one-time activation fee of up to $20.

Ford and Chevy Introduce Smartphone GPS Connections

But navigating in a car with a cellphone can be awkward — and dangerous. To avoid looking down at a handset’s small screen, an awkward cradle is needed to mount a phone on the dashboard. Also, instructions from tiny cellphone speakers are often drowned out by road noise or music in the car.

A better, safer solution would be to feed a phone’s maps and instructions through the car’s larger, built-in display and sound system. Now, two automakers are allowing this to happen.

Ford has teamed up with the navigation company Telenav to enable Telenav’s Scout software to run on compatible vehicles outfitted with Ford’s Sync system and software called Applink. A $25-a-year app, Car Connect, lets drivers connect Android phones to the dash. (An iPhone version is in the works.)

They can have maps displayed on the car’s screen, use hands-free voice commands and hear directions through the car’s sound system. Also included are traffic information, red-light camera warnings and speed trap alerts, features rarely found on in-dash systems.

Chevrolet’s new compact, the 2013 Spark, is the company’s first vehicle to offer a similar feature. Rather than storing expensive, obsolete maps and navigation in the dash, Spark’s MyLink program relies on a $50 app that owners download to an iPhone or Android handset. Called BringGo, the app worked well in a test drive through New York City traffic, ably providing directions through various boroughs and rerouting automatically when the driver insisted on making a wrong turn.

Telenav, which also supplies the maps for Ford’s $800 built-in navigation option, contends there will continue to be a market for an all-in-one, in-dash solution. But as the app generation grows and more drivers become comfortable connecting their phones to their cars, automakers may be forced to hand over the navigation reins to smartphones.

JOHN R. QUAIN