Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for facilitating stops for vehicles en route to a common destination. A request is received from a first vehicle, the request pertaining to a desire to make a particular type of stop en route to a destination. Information pertaining to the request is transmitted to one or more additional vehicles that are also en route to the destination. Feedback is obtained from the first vehicle, the second vehicle, or both, as to a desired location for the stop.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for associating vehicles en route to a common destination. A request is received from a first vehicle as to an identification of one or more additional vehicles en route to the common destination. The first vehicle is associated with the additional vehicles as part of a caravan. Information is provided as to each of the vehicles in the caravan.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for facilitating stops for vehicles en route to a common destination. A request is received from a first vehicle, the request pertaining to a desire to make a particular type of stop en route to a destination. Information pertaining to the request is transmitted to one or more additional vehicles that are also en route to the destination. Feedback is obtained from the first vehicle, the second vehicle, or both, as to a desired location for the stop.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for associating vehicles en route to a common destination. A request is received from a first vehicle as to an identification of one or more additional vehicles en route to the common destination. The first vehicle is associated with the additional vehicles as part of a caravan. Information is provided as to each of the vehicles in the caravan.

Abstract: A lightweight communications protocol optimized for wireless transfer of data across a TCP/IP network that connects a vehicle communications device to a remote entity, such as a call center. The lightweight protocol utilizes messages that include header, trailer, and payload elements, where the payload element is optimized for the transmission of SOAP content as a default content type, but is capable of transmitting other types of non-SOAP MIME content as well. The lightweight protocol also reduces session overhead and thus data traffic by maintaining sessions in an open status so that numerous messages can be transferred within a single session, without having to shut the session down and rebuild it each time.

Abstract: A method for manipulating some of the contents of an XML file in order to standardize and optimize its user-defined portions without breaking the XML syntax. More specifically, the manipulation method can standardize various user-defined terms developed by different authors, thus producing XML-based messages utilizing a more consistent and familiar set of terms. At the same time, the manipulation method optimizes the user-defined terms in a manner that reduces the amount of data associated with the resultant XML-based message. This standardized and optimized set of user-defined terms results in the use of fewer bytes of information per XML-based message, which can translate into faster and less expensive data transmissions. The manipulation method is particularly well suited for use with SOAP-compatible XML files that are used in conjunction with wireless vehicle communications systems.

Abstract: A lightweight communications protocol optimized for wireless transfer of data across a TCP/IP network that connects a vehicle communications device to a remote entity, such as a call center. The lightweight protocol utilizes messages that include header, trailer, and payload elements, where the payload element is optimized for the transmission of SOAP content as a default content type, but is capable of transmitting other types of non-SOAP MIME content as well. The lightweight protocol also reduces session overhead and thus data traffic by maintaining sessions in an open status so that numerous messages can be transferred within a single session, without having to shut the session down and rebuild it each time.