Drivers will soon be able to unlock their cars, sound the horn, check the fuel and oil levels and start the engine via their smartphone, even if they are thousands of miles away.
The OnStar service incorporates mobile phone technology into cars and was originally intended to automatically report a crash to the emergency services, but the idea has evolved to include additional features.
Nanny keys
The idea of controlling a car remotely is not new; Ford has developed a “nanny key” that allows parents to restrict the way their children drive when they borrow the family car.
Ford’s MyKey feature is able to limit the car’s top speed and the volume on the car’s stereo. If seatbelts are not fastened, the radio will not work.
The MyKey technology will be standard equipment in the American market Ford Focus.
MyKey also encourages the wearing of seatbelts, provides earlier low-fuel warnings and can be programmed to sound warning chimes at 45, 55 and 65 miles per hour.
According to research carried out by Ford, 50 per cent of those questioned said they would allow their children to use the family car more often if it were equipped with the new technology.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The nanny key seeks to address a serious problem as young drivers represent a disproportionately high number of those killed and injured on the roads.”
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