Most modern cars now have onboard black box recorders, but the standard units typically only store the most recent few seconds of driving data.  They are used in accident investigations.  And consumers have already been able to purchase recorders that track your vehicle’s braking, acceleration, mileage, and spit out a report, extracting the data via OBD II diagnostic communication port.  But what about an add-on that saves the entire stream of vehicle data not only to provide analytical reports, but to train the driver to more efficiently operate the vehicle?

Finally, amidst the spectre of $5.00 per gallon gas, PLX Devices Inc., located in sunny Sunnyvale, California, has come up with a device that actually does this.  Priced at $299 for a basic system, the “Kiwi” will provide drivers with exact information as to how efficiently they are driving their vehicles.

The Kiwi measures smoothness, drag, acceleration, and deacceleration.  The device can save motorists 5-30+ percent.  Kiwi’s offers a ‘drive green’ mode where the Kiwi can interactively train a driver to attain an improvement in gas mileage, on average, of 20%.  This translates into a very rapid ROI, about 4 months! 

As always, Autoblog Green has an excellent report on this device:

New PLX Kiwi helps drivers maximize their efficiency

Smart, green, renewable, cradle-to-crade, zero footprint cars are coming.  Micro-utility, extended range, flex-fuel, all-electric drive, self-navigating, ultra-safe, intelligent personal transportation and energy management systems, all riding on wheels in the driveway.

 

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