The Mother of All Remotes

By Chris Taylor Sunday, Mar. 16, 2003
    • You already treat it like one of the family, so why shouldn't you be able to keep in touch with your car as closely as you do with your children? Think of the possibilities. You could tell the engine to warm itself up half an hour early on a frosty morning. And in return, your car could keep you in good standing with your neighbors by alerting you when its alarm is blaring for no good reason and by allowing you to turn it off — even if you're too far away to hear it.

    These are the features of the new Clifford Matrix RS3, easily the most advanced remote-control and alarm system yet devised for cars. It doesn't come cheap: installation costs range from $600 to $900. For what it's worth, Clifford will pay your insurance deductible if your car is stolen on its watch.

    The Matrix has an impressive range — a quarter-mile in open country, which means you could start warming the car from a good seven minutes' walk away. (To be safe, Clifford has the ignition shut itself off after 12 minutes if there's no key in it.) For urban-jungle dwellers, the range is more like two blocks. The Matrix can be set to vibrate rather than beep when the alarm goes off — which should mean more sleep for the rest of your family. Not to mention your neighborhood.