But in the end, it doesn't help much - still need access to reset button.
The Underlying Controller (Adafruit Pro Trinket) is just not reliable enough about resetting to USB loader status. Therefore, it is really better to open the case, see the lights, press the button, etc. That is exactly why I did not drill the hole in the cases. In the long run, there may be a fix for this... maybe...
A couple of notes related to other posts above:
Spark/Particle: I did participate in the KickStarter for the Spark Electron... so we will see more about those when they ship, I should get some of the first ones. (I also have Spark Core and Spark Photon now, not really applicable to this project... just noting that I won't be starting from ground zero in their ecosystem. )
CAN Bus: I have kicked around that idea. "Read Only" CAN interface would solve a lot of problems, and the body-control bus is available right where we are recommending picking up 12V, right at the Liftgate Control Module. Perhaps a "Release 2", in a few months.
And, last, a status update: Several "tough nuts to crack" have now been coded and tested in R30, and I'm doing final checks in prep for shipping Artsci a big pile of control modules in the next day or three. He already has the "long boards" that go in the displays, so it should all percolate through fairly quickly. As a reminder, the goal of software R30 was to stabilize everything we'd been piling on in the R21/22/23/24 releases. We (okay, I) moved too quickly with features and destabilized some things. R30 will fix that.
Of course, R30 will be available to anyone who wants to pull their controller and updated it with a laptop. More instructions for that, and a cleaner procedure, coming AFTER R30 ships to waiting customers.