????當然，只有駕駛員愿意從細節入手改變駕駛習慣，Automatic才能給他們帶來經濟上的利益，不過科特并不擔心這一點。他表示：“我們認為，這可能是人們每年最容易省下的500-1000美元。人們總是花很多時間省些小錢，比如剪優惠券什么的，但是在開車上，你得不到任何反饋，這就是我們想要糾正的問題?！庇行┟绹艘呀洸捎昧诉@些策略來節省用車開支，還有一些人為了節油采用了某些更加極端的方法。這部分惜油如金的美國人被稱做“超級節油者”，他們為了節油不惜改變車子的外觀以降低風阻，只要是在可能的情況下就會關閉發動機，甚至跟在大車后面空檔滑行（就像騎自行車一樣）。Automatic是為普通駕駛員準備的，不是為超級節油者們準備的，但是二者殊途同歸，最終的目的都是減少油費。

????科特出生在印度的邁索爾，離班加羅爾有三個小時車程。在他看來，美國的開車成本可以說高得驚人。他大學畢業后的第一份工作是在印孚瑟斯公司(INFY)，年薪只有4000美元?？铺亟衲曛挥?0歲，但早在他上高中的時候，他就夢想著在硅谷成立一家科技創業公司。他把他能弄到手的每一篇保羅?格拉罕姆（著名創業公司孵化器Y Combinator的創始人）的論文都讀了一遍?？铺卣f：“如果你真想做一家能對世界產生某種影響的創業公司，你就必須得去硅谷。”科特自己也于2011年夏天加入了Y Combinator。他說：“這就是一切開始的地方。”后來科特在加州大學伯克利分校讀研究生時認識了Automatic的另一位創始人，然后他終于如愿以償了。現在他成了一個不扣不扣的科技企業家，包括拿很少的薪水，在舊金山城區有一間狹小的辦公室，以及有一款令人興奮的產品。

????現如今，許多新車也有了自帶屏幕以及能連接到儀表盤的所謂車載資訊娛樂系統，它能提供大部分乃至全部Automatic所能提供的功能。據高德納公司的分析師吉洛?科斯洛夫斯基預測，到2020年，80%的新車預計都會帶有內置的資訊娛樂系統，目前這一比例仍只有40%。對于Automatic來說，這意味著大多數時下生產的汽車仍然是它的潛在顧客?？铺乇硎荆骸斑@是一個很好的中間地帶。你只要購買Automatic，就能享受信息互聯帶來的很多好處?！辈贿^我們現在還不知道科特的理論能否成為現實。Automatic的第一批訂單預定在今年五月出貨（具體數據未披露），第二批訂單預計將在七月出貨。雖然預見到未來可能面臨全球各大汽車廠商的競爭，但這并沒有降低這家小公司的預期。科特表示：“想到五六個人坐在一間辦公室里，就可以影響幾百萬人，這讓我非常興奮?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W）

????譯者：樸成奎

????Of course, benefits only come to drivers who are willing to nickel-and dime their way to savings, but Kote isn't worried about that. "We think it could be the easiest $500-$1,000 people save in a year," says Kote. "People spend so much time optimizing small things like cutting coupons. [With your car] you don't get any feedback, and that's what we're trying to fix." Some Americans have already adopted these strategies -- along with other, more extreme methods -- in order to save money on gas. Known as hypermilers, these drivers often alter their car's appearance to cut down on wind resistance, turn off their engine when possible, and even coast behind larger vehicles to maximize pull (similar to cycling). Automatic is intended for the average driver, not the hypermiler, but the end goal remains the same: cut down on spending.

????For Kote, who was born in Mysore, India, a three-hour drive southwest of Bangalore, the high cost of car ownership in the United States was alarming. His first job out of college with Indian IT giant Infosys (INFY) paid only $4,000 a year. As early as high school, Kote, 30, dreamed of founding a technology startup in Silicon Valley. He read every essay written by Paul Graham (founder of the successful startup incubator Y Combinator) that he could get his hands on. "If you're serious about doing a technology startup that has any kind of impact on the world, you have to come to Silicon Valley," says Kote, who enrolled in Y Combinator himself in summer of 2011. "Here is where it all happens." After Automatic's co-founders met in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, Kote got his wish: He is a tech entrepreneur in every sense of the word, complete with little pay, a small cramped office in downtown San Francisco, and an exciting product.

????Cars with built-in screens and connected dashboards, called infotainment units, may very well accommodate many, if not all, of the features Automatic brings to the table. By 2020 close to 80% of new vehicles are expected to have built-in infotainment units, up from just 40% today, predicts Gartner analyst Thilo Koslowski. To Automatic, those numbers simply mean that the majority of cars manufactured today are still potential customers. "We think this is a good middle ground," says Kote. "You get a lot of the benefits of connectivity just by buying Automatic." It is yet to be determined whether or not Kote's theory will hold true. Automatic is slated to ship its first set of orders in May (figures were not disclosed), with a second batch of orders expected in July. Foreseeing competition from the world's largest automakers hasn't dampened the small company's expectations. "It blows my mind," says Kote, "that half a dozen people can sit in a room and have an impact on millions of people."