Ring Car Cam: At Last, a Ring Doorbell Camera For Cars

Who among us hasn't wiled away hours mesmerized by epic car crashes andGrand Theft Auto-style mayhem captured by Russian dashcams? But most of us never consider owning a dashcam because Americans don't regularly witness epic driving idiocy on that level, though such video proof is on the rise on Instagram and Tik Tok. Now the Ring Doorbell folks, makers of the home security cameras that generate their own—often spooky—viral porch-theft and break-in clips are elevating the automotive dashcam. No, Ring has not created a literal doorbell for your car. But it has delivered its spin on the dashcam format and ensured it integrates with your existing Ring system.

See All 4 Photos4

About the Ring Car Cam

The Ring Car Cam is shaped kind of like a toothbrush with the bristled end stowed in a travel container. It mounts without suction cups, by jamming the handle-end between the dash and windshield, like how you might mount a loose license plate, placing it well below the driver's field of view (a smart-phone app allows for aiming of the cameras at setup). It's powered by a USB-C cable that tucks in around and down below the dash to plug into a adapter that engages the OBD-II port. This powers the device, drawing trickle power when the ignition is off, to ensure it can wake up and record if motion is detected (the device is programmed to shut down if the car's battery voltage drops below the threshold to allow starting). It features a motion detector that's programmable to avoid false triggers, for example if a nearby vehicle has a particularly explosive exhaust at startup.

See All 4 Photos4

Car Cam vs. Ring Doorbell

The Ring Car Cam features two cameras, one facing forward, and the other facing back toward the cabin. Unlike the doorbell cam, the Car Cam features a flap the owner can lower for privacy. But like the doorbell cam, should motion be detected—triggering notification of the owner—that camera can be activated and a speaker on the unit will allow the owner to interrogate the intruder/child-surreptitiously-borrowing-mom's-car. A white LED ring illuminates during such conversations; other colors indicate when it's recording at other times.

See All 4 Photos4

Ring Car Cam Recording Modes

The device is motion activated. So it records whenever a parked car is bumped, or when the vehicle is being driven. There is also a feature called Traffic Stop, where the driver can say "Alexa record" and the cam will record several minutes of a potential encounter with law enforcement, following a fender-bender, or any other car-side conversations.

See All 4 Photos4

Obtaining Recordings

Like the Doorbell, this system can be connected to your home WiFi for uploading content. There's also an LTE modem connection to enable the Ring Protect Go subscription, which is necessary to receive real-time alerts for events, and to allow you to tap into Live View and engage in conversation with whomever triggered the alert. Ring Protect Go enables LTE, live view, and conversation engagement when away from home. You can still do live view and two-way talk w/o Ring Protect Go, via your home wifi. Highlights of video are automatically uploaded to the cloud, including shock-triggered and Traffic Stop video.

See All 4 Photos4

How Much and How Soon?

The Ring Car Cam will retail for $250, but will be available for pre-order for $200, briefly following its early January launch at CES 2023. The Ring Protect Go subscription runs $6/month or $60/year per Car Cam. Note that the Ring Car Cam is not suitable for every car. For one, your ride must be new enough to have an OBD-II port, and said port must be accessible to the adapter plug and USB-C cable. Some Teslas, for example, are incompatible from both OBD-II port and cable management standpoints. The unit will be available on Amazon, which will list compatibility.

Pre-order Now: Ring Car Cam

Disclosure: MotorTrend may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our affiliate links.