Roadloans.com specializes in providing easy access to car loans for people with bad credit. But the auto finance industry would be nothing if it weren't for the technology that got us here. People get auto loans because cars are not only convenient, but have become a part of our lives.  Can you imagine getting a car loan for a car without airbags? Roadloans preferred dealers would be full of Model T's, and we would be stuck with 8 tracks! Check out MSNBC's Ten leaps forward in car technology and see part of the reason why auto finance is such a big business.

In a recent article from Automotive News, the Roadloans iPhone app is featured as doing something that no other car loan companies are doing: actually getting an auto loan on your mobile device.  According to the article: "The RoadLoans.com app is more squarely aimed at getting an auto loan than many other apps.  The closest comparison might be to apps....that refer customers to a network of dealers that offer pre-negotiated prices."  In addition to the nifty car loan calculator, which "allows customers to figure out what their monthly payment would be at a given interest rate, down payment, term and loan amount," the Roadloans iPhone app goes further.  More from the article: 

"Customers also can use the app to ask for credit, submitting their job and income information. If the customer is approved, the system e-mails the customer a pre-approval plus a password and log-in. That allows the customer to download and print out a loan packet."

Roadloans is where many people have been connected to the car loans that have kept them working.  I'm talking in particular about commuters.  And while you aren't always enjoying the long hours of traffic to and from the office, here is a little silver lining for you: awesome gadgets!  Of course it all begins with your handy Roadloans iPhone app, which includes a car loan calculator and the ability to apply for online auto loans. After that, according to this article, there is much more to celebrate.  Happy commuting! 

The Roadloans iPhone app has recently received a nice write up on Yahoo! Finance.  If you haven't seen the app, it allows consumers to apply for a car loan directly from their mobile device, as well as serving as a car loan calcular.  If you are in the market for a car loan, or even if you're not, hustle on over to Yahoo! and check it out. 

by Bill "Chaps" McBride - senior citizen contributor to Roadloans 

Hello, Chaps here.  With the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show just last week (my grandson told me about it), I began digging around for stuff about car gadgets to post on Roadloans and made a discovery...It appears that you can now have the internet in your car.  What's next? Time machines?  This is not exactly breaking news, but it's not yesterday's garbage either.  The "autonet" is not standard fare by any means. 

But think about it...the internet in your car!  You can check your AOL while you're driving!  You can read about the latest from 60 Minutes while you're driving!  Heck you can even work on your geneology project while you're driving!  You get where this is going?  As if car phones weren't bad enough! 

Yes yes I know, the kids can use it.  But let me tell you something: I don't want my grand kids to be plugged into the Matrix 24/7.  They need to take a break with Neo and Trinity and the crew (less Tank and Dozer) in Zion every now and again, and the car is a good place for that (sometimes).  Why isn't Patsy Cline enough?  Is this really such a good idea?  Do we really want the last peaceful place in Western civilization to be the next extension of the information superhighway?  As if we aren't already connected enough?  Isn't there something to just sitting still and listening to the quiet hiss of the air conditioner? Maybe not. We are already so wired for stimulation...it won't take much to learn to steer with our knees while holding our lattes in one hand while typing in a search on Ask Jeeves with the other.  Heck, you could even be reading this article from one of these devil machines!  Oh the irony!

Think of it from a car loan perspective: You can take one of these future machines for a test drive, and while driving you can call up the internet, look at your trusty car loan calculator, run some numbers, and apply for a car loan before you make it back to the dealership!  I don't know what I think about this.  There is something unsettling about finding out if you can buy a car through the car you are trying to buy.  Sounds like a Hitchcock film.  It's like perpetual motion.  It violates the laws of thermodynamics for Pete's sake!  Listen, I like my car transactions the old fashioned way. Give me a desperate man who's trying to feed his family, smokes too much, and pretends to be your best friend and let's do some business.  I want to be armed with information, but I want to bargain with the pudgy mustachioed man who is one donut away from a heart attack, and who will chew his own leg off to get a sale.  Old school baby. That's how I roll.  

Wait a second...as I continue searching the interwebs I stumble upon another discovery...it appears that you can already do all of this and more.  Why are we talking about this?  Maybe the time machine has already been invented too. Maybe Neo lost against the machines.  Maybe I'm just an old crumudgeon.  I'll take all of the above for I don't care, Alex, and flip on some Archie Bunker...if I can just find the clicker.  Old school...

/Disconnect

 

Take a stroll down memory lane to Retrobrick, and see how things were "back then" in the day of the old school mobile phone.  Its amazing how far we've come.  I remember my dad's car phone...a giant monstrosity bolted down to the middle console of his Ford Explorer.  We were the coolest kids on the block because we could...*GASP*...talk while driving! 

Thinking about adding some bbbb-bass to your ride?  Check this video for some good tips on how and where to get started.  See the other related videos for more about car stereos.  BASS FOR YOUR FACE! 

Being in the middle of a road trip myself as I write this, I have already downloaded half of these.  They are pretty right on.  More to come on the trip in the next couple of days.  Let's just say that it has been a wonderful time.  The car has performed wonderfully, and the kids have been even better.  Find the list here.  

Edmunds.com has a pretty detailed list with different categories.  For your enjoyment!

While we're on the subject of iPhones and cars...