88 » OpenRoad Driver
GASBUDDY
GasBuddy offers its users
two important features for
their commute. The first is
that you will no longer have
to use a mapping application
to awkwardly search for the
nearest gas station. GasBuddy
automatically populates the
nearest gas stations to your
GPS location. Every gas station
plotted on your map also
appears with an up-to-date
price of fuel per litre.
The pricing data is input
by GasBuddy users and is
timestamped so you’re not
left wondering if the station
up the street is actually a few
cents cheaper while you’re
filling up your tank. Users of
the app are asked to contribute
to the community by actively
reporting any new gas prices
they come across. These
contributions are rewarded:
the more you report, the more
points you earn, which allows
you to enter GasBuddy’s weekly
draw of a $250 gas card.
So, if you’re gassing up your
car and benefitting from
GasBuddy, return the favour by
entering the gas price. Know
that you’ll be helping others in
the community while having
a chance to win some free gas
money.
DYNOLICIOUS
CLASSIC
Dynolicious is the ultimate
app for any car enthusiast
interested in both speed
and advanced performance
testing for their vehicle.
Using the iPhone’s built-in
accelerometers, the app can
sense the movement of your
vehicle as long as the phone
is placed in a cup holder or
car mount. The data is then
processed, allowing it to
detect the speed and distance
travelled.
Dynolicious offers customers
a wide range of testing and
data that would otherwise
cost hundreds of dollars in
equipment and wiring. These
include acceleration tests,
quarter-mile elapsed time
and trap speed, lateral and
braking g-forces, horsepower,
estimated crank, and your
vehicle’s friction circle. Each
set of data is saved within the
app, allowing you to review ,
graph, share and compare your
vehicle’s performance over
time.
Cost: $8.99
Dynolicious.com
COST: Free
GasBuddy.com
OFFICIAL MANUFACTURER APPS
Smartphone integration has become a feature that can often be
included with your vehicle, as nearly all manufacturers offer some
form of a companion app on select vehicles.
The Scion brand currently has five apps on the App Store, including
Scion AV Radio that offers 17 radio stations playing a variety of
music genres along with interviews from the latest artists. The
HondaLink app is exclusive to the 2013 Honda Accord and
2013 Crosstour models. It allows customers to pair their vehicle’s
touchscreen with their smartphone, providing access to internet
radio, podcasts, location services and social network options. Brands
such as Infiniti and BMW offer similar remote and monitoring apps
that provide some of the most impressive and futuristic features on
the market. Although features vary based on subscriptions packages,
these can include remote door locking and unlocking, remote horn
blow, creation of max speed alerts, vehicle finders and much more.