The automotive aftermarket has a new way to connect to the vehicle. It’s called the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port which is in its second generation (OBD-II) and is now standard in every vehicle sold in the US. Just like the cigarette lighter jack before it, its current use is not what it was designed for. As cigarette smoking became less popular and the need for vehicle electronics increased the cigarette lighter jack is now best known for its 12-volt power connection. Automobile manufacturers have gave-way to consumer demand and now build cars with 12-volt (cigarette lighter) accessory plugs all over the vehicle including in the console, rear seat, and even inside the trunk.
The OBD port, which was designed for mechanics to connect to their diagnostic computers in order to read Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC), has now become the next best way to connect aftermarket electronic devices. Although not as easy to get to with its location usually under the dash or in a kick panel, the OBD port not only provides constant 12-volt power but it also provides connection to the vehicles on-board computer system known as the CAN (Controller Area Network).
Many innovative aftermarket companies have already developed products to connect to the OBD port with most trying to avoid the costly installation labor that consumers would need to pay in order to adapt their technology. Having a product that consumers can install themselves not only reducing the acquisition cost but allows them to expand their channels of distribution.
One of the new aftermarket channels is the automobile insurance industry which is working with many popular device manufacturers to track customer driving behavior in effort to offer reduced insurance cost for safer drivers. The most popular device to market is Progressive’s SnapShot © which has helped the company gain a bigger piece of the $175 billion insurance industry. Although Progressive has many patents around the approach and technology most of the other insurance companies have followed suit with their own device (lookout for next month’s issue of Mobile Electronics magazine with a report from the Insurance Telematics Show in Chicago).
So what does this all mean for the Mobile Electronics Industry? As a specialist how does this impact my future installation business? Just as this industry has evolved to address consumer demand for the latest in-car entertainment systems, so too will the evolution of the OBD port and telematics devices and the mobile electronics specialist will take on a key role in the future. Many insurance customers are already demanding professional installation of the OBD designed device to be permanently installed and hidden from view, and the location of the OBD port in some vehicles prevents a simple do-it-yourself installation.
Earlier this year, Audiovox launched a similar product through AT&T and Wal-Mart stores called Car-Connection. It is designed for consumers to do their own vehicle diagnostics and tracking and allows for add-on professionally installed power door locks and remote start systems (a different version of the product called Car Connection Pro is available through the specialist channel).
The automobile manufacturer is fighting back saying “the OBD port was not designed for aftermarket accessories” as device manufacturers and now giant insurance companies with powerful lobbying groups are asking for more transparency and integration to the factory-vehicle electronics.
Although many agree that there probably will not be an additional OBD port coming soon, most believe that the cigarettes lighter jack ended up being a good thing for the mobile electronics industry.
