TRANSCRIPT:

Alan Taylor: Welcome back everybody, it`s Car and Driver Radio, I`m Alan Taylor, our show is brought to you in part by McGuire`s, the world`s finest surface car care products and accessories. Also thanks to Kenwood, Kenwood stereos, listen to the future, and there`s not much better than a good stereo because then you get to listen to the stuff like... this... (pause to listen to music)
Alright, it is Car and Driver, we have a guest on the line right now and I`ll need to network to pop her up for me because my computer just died. It`s one of those days here at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Jennifer, do me a favor and say your last name for me.

Jennifer: It`s Funkhouser.

Alan: What a name!

Jennifer: Isn`t it? It`s great! It`s actually German for firehouse.

Alan: It is so... It`s, it`s Funkhouser? Yea!

Alan: Yea, um, I just, I want to make sure I say that right because it, it`s one of those names that you could probably get in trouble on radio saying.

Jennifer: Yes you could! You sure could.

Alan: So tell the world what you do and where you`re from and what all the rest of that.

Jennifer: Well we`re from Indianapolis and we have a product called, a company called CarCheckup and what we do is we created a system that is easy for anyone to use and it allows you to know all sorts of information easily about your vehicle and you can easily plug the device into your car, um in the OBDII port which is located under the steering wheel, usually, and it records all these different telemetry points while you`re driving and then when you get home, you upload the data to your personal account on Carcheckup.com and you can know so much about your car. Like it`s great for parents of teen drivers because they can see a trip summary telling them how fast they had gone, if there was hard acceleration, hard breaking how far they went what times they drove, that sort of thing. There`s also there`s also a great application that allows business people to record their mileage and then they can print out the report whenever they need them to hand them in to their boss, or they can even hand them into their accountant at the end of the year so you can get the IRS mileage deduction.

Alan: Wow!

Jennifer: And there`s also, if you have a check engine light, we not only tell you what the code is, but we also tell you what that means to you. What you or your mechanic might need to do like, for example, some code readers out there, they might say like, P0440, which might tell you that it`s an `evaporated emissions control system malfunction`. Well to people like me, I have no idea what that means but we broke down the codes and said what that means and for example, that one just might mean that your gas cap isn`t turned fully on, ya know, fully tight, till it clicks.

Alan: Right. Which one time I was in Las Vegas with my wife and kids and we had this big E350 15 passenger van because I wanted my kids to have one entire row to themselves each, so I don`t have to hear that, `Don`t touch me, he touched me! Stop that! You`re stupid!` Ya know, it`s like all that. so the light went on and I`m like, `Oh my God, it`s like 118 degrees outside and I thought, this is all I need, to break down, and have my kids melt down into a puddle of yuck.

Jennifer: Right.

Alan: So I called a buddy of mine and I said, `Hey, ah, this light is on,` and kind of what we call the idiot light... And he says, `Well,` ya know, `what`s it doing?` And I said, `Nothing, it`s doing nothing, it`s working perfectly.` He says, `Ya know what,` he goes, `it`s hot.` He goes, `How long ago did you get gas?` I said, `Well, I don`t know, it`s been about a half an hour or so ago, but I did get gas recently.` He goes, `Do me a favor, go out there and make sure your gas cap is tight all the way on.` And I went out there and then he says, `And turn your engine off, turn it back on.` Sure enough, it reset itself, that`s what it was.

Jennifer: Yup.

Alan: And ya know, I guess that`s an emissions thing, right?

Jennifer: Yes, it is. And it`s so common, you know, and then you have to take it to the dealer or the mechanic and have to pay for them to read your code just so you can go out and them say, `Oh well, you just needed to turn your cap tighter,` and you gotta pay for all that so it`s just a way for consumers to be a little bit more empowered about their vehicles.

Alan: What is the CarCheckup cost?

Jennifer: It costs $149.

Alan: And is it something that is available widely out there at auto parts stores or where do you find it?

Jennifer: No you can actually go to the website, CarCheckup.com, and you can get it there and we`ll ship it right out to you and then you can use it as often as you need.

Alan: So, and when did this come out? And who and why kind of a thing? Ya know, in other words, this person must have been obviously in this part of the business world, in the automotive business, because this is kind of a bizarre thing.

Jennifer: You`ll probably be surprised, but actually I was one of the co-founders.

Alan: You`re kidding! Funkhouser?

Jennifer: Yea!

Alan: It`s Funkhouser and Lipchitz Associated!

Jennifer: Ha! That`s funny! Yea, actually I was one of the co-founders, it actually all came about where many great company now a days come out, in college. And I had to take a business class and it had to be a technology business class and we had to come up with a great way to empower a customer in a new way that hadn`t been yet and, so this was years ago, and we said, `Ya know, it`s just frustrating to not be able to know what`s going on with your car and being, sometimes, at the mechanic`s mercy, so let`s see what we can do about that.`

Alan: Well, let me ask Dennis over here, he`s kind of a hot-rodder. Dennis, how much is one of those scan tools? What was the last thing you bought one of those?

Dennis: Well, depending on the level, you can spend anywhere from, somewhere around that hundred to two hundred dollar level all the way up to the fifteen or twenty-thousand dollar level.

Alan: Well, no, no, no I know, but the kind of, the inexpensive ones, they`re that much money right? Just for the scan tool.

Dennis: Yea, for what this product does...

Alan: I think you can buy them for really cheapy,-cheap ones.

Dennis: Yea, but they`re not going to last, this, this product sounds like it`s not only a value, but actually brings to the table a little bit more than just what that cheap scanner might bring.

Jennifer: Absolutely. And that`s what we love about it. It`s not just the scanner. It`s not just the...

Alan: Yea, it`s multiple, multiple uses, sure.

Jennifer: Because you can use it on a daily basis and if your check engine light happens to come one, while your logging mileage or while your teen is using it for...

Alan: Well listen to this... My cars are so old, I`m getting ready to get a new one, that I don`t have a OBT, OB, what is it? Yeah, OBD2... No, no, I have an Oh My God 2...

(laughter)

Alan: So I go.. Uh Oh, Uh Oh, the lights on! No that`s not a light, that`s a fire!

Dennis: Then you gotta clean your pants!

Alan: Then it`s like, Oh No! Put it out! Alright, Jennifer Funkhouser, and CarCheckup.com if you are interested it is about 150 bucks. Thank you so much!

Jennifer: Great thank you so much guys!

Alan: Alright, take care! It is Car and Driver, we will take a break, hang with us!

(end interview)

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