April 25, 2018

Amazon Wants to Pop Your Trunk

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In a rather surprising marketing move, Amazon has announced a new venue for parcel delivery for people who feel apartment lobbies and front porches are not secure enough — into the trunk of your car.
Starting Tuesday, people in dozens of cities across the United States can start getting their Amazon orders delivered to a parked car, provided their vehicle has the proper technology. With a few taps on a smartphone screen, the courier can unlock the car and drop the box inside the trunk or on the back seat.”
Here is the kicker — and of course it involves a piece of current motordom technology.
The in-car delivery works “for a 2015 or later Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle with an active account with OnStar, the roadside assistance and navigation service from General Motors. Car owners with 2015 or newer Volvos with a similar service, On Call, can also receive in-car deliveries from Amazon.”
Of course, there are a few other situations where you’re not getting any Amazon delivery to your car trunk.
In-car deliveries won’t happen for Amazon customers who park inside gated lots or communities, or in underground parking garages where satellite signals often can’t penetrate. Thus, the service seems aimed especially at people who leave their vehicles in the lots of large, easily accessible suburban office parks, or open street level parking.
There’s no comment yet on whether the “porch pirates” who steal packages from front doors will adapt to vehicle thefts, or if there’s a safeguard in place to deter potential break-ins from deliveries made to cars.
Amazon also understands that everyone has been taught NOT to leave valuables in cars, and they have agreed to take care of broken windows and locks on cars that are broken into because of a delivery.
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  1. I think it is a great idea as many folks park their car all day at some office park, so why not have your parcel dropped there.
    Except downtown Vancouver it would work very well in the rest of B.C. as well.
    What it shows though is that mobility pricing is overdue as commercial operators now get a public subsidy and hollow out classic more centrally locates retail locations. Road use is far too cheap and classic retailers get taxed to death. A very unhealthy urban development is thus unfolding.

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