MacRumors Giveaway: Win an 'Automatic Link' Connected Car Adapter

Friday March 20, 2015 12:01 PM PDT by Marianne Schultz
For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Automatic, maker of the Automatic Link car adapter and companion apps to monitor your car's performance and usage. The Automatic Link adapter and apps debuted in 2013 and the adapter currently retails for $99 while the companion iPhone app is free. [Direct Link]

The Automatic Link plugs into a car's OBD-II diagnostic port and works with most gasoline car models sold in the US since 1996 (car compatibility can be checked here). Data is transmitted to a paired iPhone (or Android smartphone) via Bluetooth and requires an iPhone 5 or newer. The Automatic system can decode engine fault codes and track gas mileage and offer feedback to improve it. A Crash Alert feature can also reach out to emergency services or designated contacts through a paired smartphone in the case of an accident. The Automatic system can also keep track of where you parked your car.

Automatic_Link_Phone-cropped

To enter to win the Automatic Link adapter, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter your email address. Your email address will not be given to any third party and will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner. You can also earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, following MacRumors on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the intricacies of international laws regarding giveaways, you must be age 18 or older and located in the United States to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest will run from today (March 20) at 12:00 pm Pacific time through 12:00 pm Pacific time on March 27. The winner will be chosen randomly on March 27 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address. The Automatic Link adapter will be shipped to the winner for free.

Automatic is also offering a coupon code to MacRumors readers that will take 20% off all orders through their site. Use this link to have the code applied automatically or enter code MACRUMORS at checkout.

Tags: Automatic, giveaway
29 comments


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r6girl
45 months ago

Not this again.


Before people get up in arms about this, it's for legal reasons best described in this response (//forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=20733806&postcount=17) in the thread for the first giveaway we did. We know that we have many members and readers outside of the US but there's simply no reasonable way for us to comply with the laws of all countries.
Rating: 13 Votes
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ArtOfWarfare
45 months ago

Not this again.


Not this again.
Rating: 4 Votes
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fzfpff
45 months ago

You must be age 18 or older and located in the United States to enter.

Not this again.
Rating: 3 Votes
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dejo
45 months ago

I have an old junky lifted jeep with ginormous tires. And no trip computer will calculate mpg right.


Have you changed your speedometer gear to account for the larger tires?
Rating: 3 Votes
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jweinraub
45 months ago
I found some discount codes plus additional discount during christmas to buy it for $60 and after a few weeks, promptly returned it. It is pure garbage and really regret getting it.
Rating: 1 Votes
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elmateo487
45 months ago
So if the devs are reading this. Is the mileage calculated using the cars computer? Or is it calculated by fuel consumption in relation to distance traveled by gps. If it is the later I will buy one in a heartbeat.

I have an old junky lifted jeep with ginormous tires. And no trip computer will calculate mpg right. I had an Eco route (same idea but for garmin gpsd devices) and it told me all the time that I should be getting 22mpg. LOL

If it has a mode to use gps distance. That would be so great. It would allow older cars that have been modified. Or any car that has been modified, To get accurate mpg information
Rating: 1 Votes
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aacealo
45 months ago
I purchased one of these awhile back. I use it to diagnose check engine lights. Otherwise I find the feature set somewhat annoying.

Frankly I think it's because the developers' goals for this device are not mine. While I'd appreciate features to tell me my remaining fuel range, navigation to help me select the most economical gas stations along a route, or even simply a reliable connection with my iPhone 6... the emphasis seems to be mostly on their "Drive Score" concept. Basically, I want reliability and information from a tool the developers seem to view more as a safety device.

At first I thought it was a neat idea. They give you an audible chirp whenever you accelerate hard, brake hard, or are speeding. The speeding chirp I don't mind, the hard acceleration chirp had its moments, but in all honesty, I think their chirp for a hard brake is downright dangerous. In order to boost your drive score you don't want to hear any chirps. So if I you're an engaged user, thinking about your score, and the guy in front of you slams on the brakes, your score gets a negative hit even though you did the right thing and braked hard enough to keep from rear-ending the person. Same is true if someone cuts you off, pulls out unexpectedly, or otherwise drives erratically or irresponsibily. In fairness, you can turn those three features off, but beyond an emergency crash phone call, I see little use for this device other than checking and clearing check engine codes. And yes, I've tried to use this with IF (formerly IFTTT) and I have a Nest and have tried using it with that (the constant text messages were annoying so I disconnected my Automatic from the Nest - the Nest on the other hand is AMAZING, I've had it two years and I LOVE it).
Rating: 1 Votes
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larrylaffer
45 months ago

but in all honesty, I think their chirp for a hard brake is downright dangerous. In order to boost your drive score you don't want to hear any chirps. So if I you're an engaged user, thinking about your score, and the guy in front of you slams on the brakes, your score gets a negative hit even though you did the right thing and braked hard enough to keep from rear-ending the person. Same is true if someone cuts you off, pulls out unexpectedly, or otherwise drives erratically or irresponsibily.


That's a really interesting point. I wonder if at some point the DoT will regular this kind of stuff.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Astro321
45 months ago

Or you can buy an ELM327 and Dash Command App


Or u can use this, or u can use that, or that over there. Isn't having OPTIONS a lovely thing?

Your snark has been met with more snark.
Rating: 1 Votes
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ArtOfWarfare
45 months ago
This is one of those things I said I'd think about if it were cheaper. And free is cheaper. So I've entered.

I can see myself paying ~$20 for it just to have more information when the diagnostic lights come on. Other than that none of the features seem particularly appealing to me.
Rating: 1 Votes
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