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We at Schierl Tire service all kinds of cars, and you better believe we’ve seen all kinds of fascinating gadgets come through our garages over the years. If you want to get in on some of the newest car tech out there, but you’re not ready for a new car just yet, we’ve rounded up are some fun, interesting or helpful after-market add-ons you might want to consider investing in to upgrade your current ride.  

Smartphones and Your Car 

Our smartphones are some of the most used tools in our day to day lives, and of course they play a key role even while we are on the road. We use them for directions or playing music while driving. Whether you have an iPhone or Android, there are quite a few ways to better connect your phone to your car to ensure safety and convenience while driving.  

In cars with a screen interface, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can allow you to connect your phone to your car for easy access to music, directions, and voice commands. If you have an older car without a screen interface, there are still quite a few accessories on the market. Amazon Echo Auto can connect to your car through a USB port or the 12-volt outlet. Connect your phone for data and voice commands and use it just like you would use an Echo at home. It gives directions, plays music, and even streams your Audible audiobooks, all without a screen.  

Extra Wi-fi and Signal on the Road 

Struggling with cell service while traveling? You can improve internet and cell service in your car with plug-in boosters and hotspots. If you need Wi-fi on the road, there are several 5G and 4G hotspots on the market that can provide up to 100GB of mobile data. Paired with the Amazon Echo, that will keep your audio streaming for quite a while! If you prefer more cell service to Wi-Fi, consider getting a booster to extend your service a few extra miles. Boosters could cover a whole car or just a single phone, depending on your needs.  

Safety and Service  

On-Star is the go-to roadside assistant. If it’s built into your car, great! If not, there are plenty of after-market alternatives available, to offer you the same peace of mind. Most of these services are through cell phone service companies, meaning you will always be connected to roadside assistance. A lot of these roadside assistance devices now come with location tracking for emergency services and families, Bluetooth, Google Assistant, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. They can even detect when the airbags deploy or detect an accident by just plugging into your car’s on-board diagnostics port.  

Dash cams are an important safety feature and well worth the minimal investment to get them bought and installed. Did you know they can be added to cars after-market? There is a range of options from $30 to... well as much as you feel like spending.  

Dash cams are cost effective tech that are used for a variety of reasons, such as ensuring safety and liability. You can add cameras to the front and rear window and capture any incidents that may occur on the road. Many brands will even synchronize multiple cameras, so you have perfectly timed video from all around your car. 

New Tech For Old Cars 

A lot of this technology might not be able to help you if you have an older car. Many older models don’t have built-in USB-ports, which are essential for charging your phone and powering your devices. Thankfully, you can buy USB charging ports that plug into your cigarette lighter to power or charge up to four USB devices. 

Your car may be so old, it still has a cassette player and no way to hook up your phone to play music. But you can’t bump Spotify on a tape deck! Bluetooth cassettes are here to help. Remember back in the day when you could get a cassette adapter for your portable CD player? These new adapters are fully wireless and can connect to your phone via Bluetooth. A full charge can last up to 8 hours (with no cassette tape tangling around the play head!). In our experience, this is the best way to connect your phone to your car speakers if your car happens to be older than Bluetooth itself.  

Whether you have a brand-new luxury car with all the bells and whistles or you are proudly cruising in a pristine bright green 1970 Roadrunner coupe, you can find all sorts of new tech to make every trip fun and safe. Upgrade as much as you like. And when you get a new car down the road, you can always take your tech with you!