Want to post expense mileage for work, keep an eye on your teen driver or access real-time vehicle performance stats? There’s a car app for that.

The new Automatic App Gallery has on offer more than 20 third-party services which can connect you and your smartphone to your vehicle.

“The opportunities to improve the car ownership experience were so broad and deep that we knew not to try to tackle them all on our own. There’s one way to do it right, a way everybody’s already familiar with: an app store, but for your car,” CEO Thejo Kote explained in a blog post.

All you need is the new Automatic adapter, a miniature gadget that plugs into the majority of vehicles built after 1996 and comes together with the app which is uploaded to your smartphone. The first version came two years ago, but Automatic unveiled Tuesday a second-generation version for $99.95, a package that includes support for dual Bluetooth streams. The new service also has the ability to observe a car’s immediate and raw performance data in real-time and it also supports built-in GPS. The new Automatic car tracker has an improved connector in order to fit better in more smaller vehicles.

Automatic can be currently run on three real-time data application for iPhone and iPad. They are called Harry’s LapTimer DashCommand, and OBD Fusion. According to the company, Automatic should arrive on Android very soon.

“We founded Automatic on the belief that our cars weren’t living up to their potential. We hold the entire Internet in our pockets now, so why is car ownership still stuck in the past? Without question, what we’re most excited about from this new adapter is the streaming apps available today and all the new ones coming soon,” Kote added in his blog post.

App makers can get contribute to the developing of the service via the Automatic Developer Platform. There, tech specialists can rely on the REST API for trip logs, which measures mileage, start/end location, routes and times. Also, they can use Webhooks and Websockets designed for driving events, such as ignition on/off, real-time location updates and check engine light status. Developers are also wanted to improve the Data streaming SDK for iOS, which is real-time stream of speed, air intake, RPM and data from other sensors.

Image Source: Engadget