A few weeks ago I posted an entry asking (begging?) GM to consider an iPhone app that would allow me to start my car from my iPhone. I don’t want it because its cool (well, that’s part of it) but because their basic and advanced remotes have horrible range … and I live in MN, where its cold and the last thing I want to walk within 25 feet of my car, start it, then go back inside to wait for it to warm.
Moving on … this week I noticed a post about an iPhone app Mercedes is working on as a additional remote for their cars. That’s perfect considering my other car is a C-class. Here’s the down-side of this app: no remote start. It simple mimics the functionality you have on your existing key fob. Let’s take a look at the steps needed to start your car for a moment (as I illustrate my point to this entry):
With current key/fob:
- Remove remote from pocket
- Press button – car opens
With proposed iPhone app:
- Remove iPhone from pocket
- Press button to activate iPhone
- Slide finger to unlock iPhone
- Swipe to screen containing your MB remote application
- Press icon to start app
- Wait a moment
- Press button to open car – car opens (I’m just going to assume that it does it as quickly as well – which I somehow don’t think will be true.)
So there you go, GM. Simply hurry up and build the app I talked about and you’ll have a GREAT new feature Mercedes doesn’t even have! Again, I’m available for beta testing. 
What people here are saying…