????當(dāng)然,，只有駕駛員愿意從細(xì)節(jié)入手改變駕駛習(xí)慣,，Automatic才能給他們帶來(lái)經(jīng)濟(jì)上的利益，不過(guò)科特并不擔(dān)心這一點(diǎn),。他表示：“我們認(rèn)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(shí)間省些小錢(qián),，比如剪優(yōu)惠券什么的,，但是在開(kāi)車(chē)上，你得不到任何反饋,，這就是我們想要糾正的問(wèn)題,。”有些美國(guó)人已經(jīng)采用了這些策略來(lái)節(jié)省用車(chē)開(kāi)支,，還有一些人為了節(jié)油采用了某些更加極端的方法,。這部分惜油如金的美國(guó)人被稱(chēng)做“超級(jí)節(jié)油者”，他們?yōu)榱斯?jié)油不惜改變車(chē)子的外觀(guān)以降低風(fēng)阻,，只要是在可能的情況下就會(huì)關(guān)閉發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī),，甚至跟在大車(chē)后面空檔滑行（就像騎自行車(chē)一樣）。Automatic是為普通駕駛員準(zhǔn)備的,，不是為超級(jí)節(jié)油者們準(zhǔn)備的,，但是二者殊途同歸，最終的目的都是減少油費(fèi),。

????科特出生在印度的邁索爾,，離班加羅爾有三個(gè)小時(shí)車(chē)程。在他看來(lái),，美國(guó)的開(kāi)車(chē)成本可以說(shuō)高得驚人,。他大學(xué)畢業(yè)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(shí)候,，他就夢(mèng)想著在硅谷成立一家科技創(chuàng)業(yè)公司,。他把他能弄到手的每一篇保羅?格拉罕姆（著名創(chuàng)業(yè)公司孵化器Y Combinator的創(chuàng)始人）的論文都讀了一遍?？铺卣f(shuō)：“如果你真想做一家能對(duì)世界產(chǎn)生某種影響的創(chuàng)業(yè)公司,，你就必須得去硅谷?！笨铺刈约阂灿?011年夏天加入了Y Combinator,。他說(shuō)：“這就是一切開(kāi)始的地方,。”后來(lái)科特在加州大學(xué)伯克利分校讀研究生時(shí)認(rèn)識(shí)了Automatic的另一位創(chuàng)始人,，然后他終于如愿以?xún)斄恕,，F(xiàn)在他成了一個(gè)不扣不扣的科技企業(yè)家，包括拿很少的薪水,，在舊金山城區(qū)有一間狹小的辦公室,，以及有一款令人興奮的產(chǎn)品。

????現(xiàn)如今,，許多新車(chē)也有了自帶屏幕以及能連接到儀表盤(pán)的所謂車(chē)載資訊娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng),，它能提供大部分乃至全部Automatic所能提供的功能。據(jù)高德納公司的分析師吉洛?科斯洛夫斯基預(yù)測(cè),，到2020年,，80%的新車(chē)預(yù)計(jì)都會(huì)帶有內(nèi)置的資訊娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)，目前這一比例仍只有40%,。對(duì)于Automatic來(lái)說(shuō),，這意味著大多數(shù)時(shí)下生產(chǎn)的汽車(chē)仍然是它的潛在顧客?？铺乇硎荆骸斑@是一個(gè)很好的中間地帶,。你只要購(gòu)買(mǎi)Automatic，就能享受信息互聯(lián)帶來(lái)的很多好處,?！辈贿^(guò)我們現(xiàn)在還不知道科特的理論能否成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。Automatic的第一批訂單預(yù)定在今年五月出貨（具體數(shù)據(jù)未披露）,，第二批訂單預(yù)計(jì)將在七月出貨,。雖然預(yù)見(jiàn)到未來(lái)可能面臨全球各大汽車(chē)廠(chǎng)商的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，但這并沒(méi)有降低這家小公司的預(yù)期,?？铺乇硎荆骸跋氲轿辶鶄€(gè)人坐在一間辦公室里，就可以影響幾百萬(wàn)人,，這讓我非常興奮,。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????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."