On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port

Last month, Apple Stores in the United States began stocking the Automatic Link. And it might just point the way toward how to convince more car buyers that a plug-in electric car--or other alternatives, from hybrid to diesel to natural gas, for that matter--could make economic sense. The Automatic Link is a $99 device that connects to a car's OBD-II data port and feeds selected information to an app on the owner's iPhone, which becomes a "smart driving assistant" with a focus on fuel efficiency. Developed by Bay Area startup Automatic, the product monitors and summarizes the driver's routes...