Last month Hyundai introduced the world to a new concept, having their car’s owner manual on an iPad, something which has not been done before, not even in the luxury lines of BMW, Porshe, Mercedes or Audis, let alone GM or Ford. The automaker made it official that it would be ditching the paper manual for the digital version.

With it, you can view rich multimedia reference guides, locate Hyundai dealers, schedule regular service appointments, read safety warnings and so much more. And I would not be surprised if in the near future, your vehicles diagnostic would be displayed from the app. They could also enable a feature which allows you to trace the vehicle should it be stolen or have it notify you, via the iPad app of course, when it requires an oil change.

The first step is convincing consumers that this is the better approach. Surely, everyone can see the significant benefit to the app — it’s interactive, its visually pleasing, it simple to use, its even got photos, videos and awesome functionality. I am just surprised this wasn’t conceived sooner.

Not only is the app a great way to reduce printing cost and paper, but also a great marketing piece since people who would like to learn more about the car, can download it. They can use the app to see the car’s features, its options and possibly in the future even order one on it!!! Oh my, how the digital world is changing and enabling us to be more effective and productive.

It would reduce problems in haggling or with visiting multiple dealerships to get the best price. All that can now be done right from where ever you may be — your home, your office, your bed, the toilet (oh crap don’t say that) or even at a coffee shop somewhere. And that same app, is actually the car’s owner manual. Insane!!!

The iPad even comes included with the vehicle so you don’t have to go to Apple to buy one. Sure the car is a bit pricey, $58,900 buckaroos ($ USD), but heck if you’re looking for luxury, the digital car manual is a must, specially when people are hardly buying paper books.

An iPhone and iPod version is expected out shortly, and perhaps, if we are lucky we might even see the Android version for other devices before the end of the year. At any rate, its great to see this available now. Below is the new commercial for it — check it out, its really cool stuff.

Photo Courtesy of Newslink Hellas
Photo Courtesy of Bryn Jones2008
Photo Courtesy of tjdewey