Update: Fuelly == Data for Drivers

[andyrobo]

Fuelly and Apps - An official update of what we have going on.

I wanted to post an update so everyone knows what we have been working on. A couple months ago we got started working on a new API for Fuelly. Our plan is to run our website and apps from this API and at some point open it up to partners as well. It will be the foundation for us to more rapidly iterate in the future. Users will be able to add many more data points to their fuel-ups like tire pressure, octane, fuel additives, location, altitude, etc. One of the more complex parts of this system will be a new way to organize vehicles in a more granular manner based on engine, transmissions, trim and other optional equipment. This will allow everyone to dig deeper when seeing how these items effect MPG.

We are planning to support more fuel types including electric and plugin hybrids.

We also plan to start adding other features related to the Total Cost of Ownership for your vehicles so you can truly understand what it cost to drive per mile (or kilometer). For example, it would be nice to add in maintenance records and their associated costs. Not only will maintenance costs help you understand the total cost of ownership but we can then link that to the reminder system so you know when it's time to change your oil, renew your inspection sticker, etc. We also plan to build tools so you can track your vehicles value and thus see how depreciation costs add to your Total Cost of Ownership.

We plan to build a feature where groups can put their cars together and see them next to each other. This would be a nice way for members of Forums to see their cars on one page and see where everyone stands.

We rolled out an update to the GasTracker+ app today with hopes of resolving the issues. Unfortunately we've already had one report of a major bug so we'll have to push out another update soon. That being said, we will be looking for iOS beta testers to help us do better testing on future releases. If you are an iPhone user and would like to help test future app releases please post here or send an email to support at fuelly.com.

GasTracker+ was an app developed by a 3rd party that worked off of scraping our regular website HTML pages. The app would scrape the pages and then parse the data and return the information via a native app interface. The problem was that small changes to the website would break the app. We are now powering part of the app via an API and the rest is still scraping. As soon as our new API is ready we plan to connect the app only to the API which will improve reliability.

GasTracker+ is just an intermediate solution (requires a data connection) until we can get our fully featured future version ready. The intent is to have an app that works offline so you can add fuel-ups even in the remotest places that will sync with Fuelly (cloud backup) when you have a data connection. In the near future we will be making an exciting announcement about our future iOS app plans.

We've ordered dozens of ODBII readers and are going to start testing them. We'll be looking for private beta testers to help us understand how more data can help the Fuelly community.

If you have any questions, ideas, concerns, etc please post them here.

We're looking forward to working with you all to make sure Fuelly meets your needs!

Regards,

Andy R

Fuelly == Data for Drivers