Automatic — which uses a cellular-connected device plugged into your car's OBD-II port to provide diagnostic, tracking and analytics data — is shutting down. The company sent out an email to users today noting that the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause, and that means the end of "the Automatic connected car product, service, and platform."
The service will shut down at midnight Pacific time on May 28.
Automatic was purchased by SiriusXM in April 2017 and featured a couple flavors of connected car devices. Automatic Pro housed its own 3G radio and could upload information at its leisure, which also allowed for real-time tracking of a vehicle. Automatic Lite relied on a Bluetooth connection with your phone to upload the data.
Automatic worked with pretty much any car out there, and with both Android and iOS devices. You'd buy it once and have a "lifetime" of use. It'd track each drive, showing how much (and where) you traveled, estimating the cost of the trip, and seamlessly integrating with other services for those who needed to keep track of their mileage. It also could show diagnostic codes, and help track your fuel usage. Automatic Pro sold for $129 back in the day and came with a "lifetime" usage plan. You buy it once, and it just works forever.
Of course, forever isn't actually forever. The good news is that Automatic is offering rebates, though you'll have to meet a few requirements, including proof of purchase and the ability to verify your account information. And you'll have to complete the rebate request form by June 15, 2020. Automatic Pro will net you $109.99; Automatic Lite will net you $59.99; Automatic Connected Car Assistant will net you $79.99; and Automatic Classic with a promotional upgrade to Automatic CCA will get you $59.99.
If you meet the criteria for a rebate, you'll receive an electronic Visa gift card.
And what about all the data Automatic collected? (And to be clear, it's a lot of data about where you went. You can download all that data until June 28. After that, Automatic will delete it, permanently.
You may continue to sync driving and personal data with your account until we cease operations on May 28, 2020. In addition, your driving data will be available for you to retrieve until June 28, 2020 via the Automatic Dashboard located here. For detailed instructions on exporting your driving data, please check the Customer FAQs.
And that's that. RIP Automatic. It was fun while you tracked us.
