Using a little device that plugs right into a car's diagnostic port (usually just below the steering wheel), a Portland based company is now allowing Oregonians to pay for their auto insurance at rates directly related to how much they actually drive. For telecommuters and people who carpool or use public transportation, this could be a great chance to save some cash, especially for this holiday season.

MetroMile, which launched in Oregon today, is the first company in the nation to offer pay-per-mile auto insurance. The company is targeting its services at the growing number of Americans — particularly those under 40 — who are driving less.

While company CEO Steve Pretre hails from Redwood City, California, he and his partners have decided to base the company here in Portland.

Why Portland?

"What brought us here was here initially was the bike community," Pretre shared when I met with him last week. During one of his many visits over the past several months he went on a run and got caught at a bridge lift on the Hawthorne Bridge.

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