Amazon's New Service Delivers Packages To Your Car
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NEW YORK (CBSMiami/CNN) - In the race to stay at the front of the delivery pack, Amazon has announced that it is now doing package drop-off at your car.
Beginning Tuesday, customers in 37 cities can get their Amazon order delivered to the trunks of their cars for free. The catch? You need to be a Prime member.
Nearly all Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and Volvos with the model year of 2015 or newer are compatible. GM owners must have an active OnStar account, and Volvo owners need an active On Call account. These systems provide remote access to vehicles, which makes Key In-Car possible.
Last November, the company launched Amazon Key, which uses a camera and smart lock so Prime members can have deliveries brought into their home.
Its latest iteration, Amazon Key In-Car, relies on the vehicle's internet connection to remotely open the trunk so packages can be delivered. Amazon's delivery people receive one-time access to open the trunk. An alert is sent to customers when the process is completed.
The new service is great for people worried about "porch pirates," people who walk off with deliveries left outside homes. Now packages can be safely left in locked vehicle trunks.
There are some restrictions on what can be delivered to your trunk. Packages must not weigh more than 50 pounds, exceed 26 x 21 x 16 inches and can't be valued at over $1,300 or fulfilled by a third-party seller.
For now, the service will be broadly useful in cities such as Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago, and it's coming to more areas soon.
That is, until self-driving cars make car ownership a thing of the past.
