Promising plan for bargain petrol

Pipeline is a grass-roots organisation using the web to assemble a group of people large enough to winkle a corporate-level discount out of a petrol retailer. The retailer, who apparently has already agreed to the discount in principle, hasn’t yet been named. Perhaps the green colour scheme of the Pipeline web site is a clue?
Organiser Ben Scammell promises that membership will cost nothing but could result in savings of up to 10p per litre, if sufficient numbers sign up.
Given the price of petrol, and the healthy profits being made by oil companies, it’s great that someone has worked out a way to create some wiggle-room for the ordinary motorist. Auto IT has signed up today.

Remote diagnostics wait with the internet fridge

Automotive analysis firm SBD’s latest (paid for) report looks at why remote diagnostics have yet to take off.

A little like the fabled internet fridge that orders fresh beers from Tesco.com automatically, before you run out, remote diagnostics is a technology that ought to be here, ought to be worthwhile, but faces too much apathy, cynicism, inertia and cost to get off the ground.

SBD identifies a range of benefits: transmitting wireless data in the event of a vehicle breakdown; sending data about malfunctions direct to the motorist’s dealership; warranty analysis, enabling manufacturers to monitor trends such a component reliability; and remote software download, allowing makers to send software patches to fix certain kinds of faults, avoiding the need for a vehicle recall.

According to SBD, consumers won’t cough up cash for any of these benefits - anyone who owns a mobile phone will know that the cost of a wireless data link can be exorbitant. The manufacturers will have to swallow this cost themselves, but may be able to piggy-back on other wireless systems – such as real-time, traffic-aware navigation services – that have greater driver appeal.

Manufacturers and dealer networks will also have to co-operate more closely if they are both to benefit from remote diagnostics, SBD adds.

European Community proposals for a public E-call service – a sort of automated 999 call triggered by a collision or other emergency – could see all new vehicles fitted with wireless comms gear by 2009. Piggy-backing on this kit seems like one obvious route for future progress.