Methods and apparatus for inputting information to a vehicle

摘要

Disclosed are methods and apparatus for communicating with an occupant of a vehicle. A method includes the steps of coupling the vehicle to a station; transferring information from the station into the vehicle; and receiving the transferred information and storing the transferred information within the vehicle. In this embodiment of the invention the station is located at a site that provides a service for the vehicle, and the transferred information includes a portion that indicates when a next service is due for the vehicle. The transferred information may include a date that a next service is due and/or a distance that the vehicle is to travel before the next service is due. In this embodiment the vehicle automatically compares a current date and/or an odometer reading to the stored information; and presents a message within the vehicle in human perceptible form when equality is indicated. The information transferred into the vehicle may also include at least executable program instruction and an associated memory address for storage of the at least one instruction.