Toyota has announced plans to bring the Amazon Alexa virtual assistant to some of its Lexus and Toyota models later this year. The announcement, made at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, marks a significant step forward for the Japanese automaker. Thus far Toyota has been one of few automakers to resist bringing bit tech companies to its vehicle interiors. The… Read More...
Toyota has announced plans to show off its latest autonomous technology at CES with its Platform 3.0 test bed. Platform 3.0 is actually a Lexus LS 600hL with a ton of new sensors and cameras attached, giving it what Toyota calls one of the most "perceptive" autonomous vehicles on the road. The story with Platform 3.0, developed by the Toyota… Read More...
As autonomous driving sweeps the industry, it seems the goal is for the human brain to do less work behind the wheel. Well, apparently Nissan is thinking otherwise as the company has shown off its new brain-to-vehicle (B2V) technology that uses brainwaves to control vehicles. This Jetson's style technology leverages a specific headset on the driver that tracks certain happenings… Read More...
Don’t let go of the steering wheel just yet. At less than $35,000, the 2018 Nissan Rogue Platinum could possibly be the lowest-priced vehicle with Level 2 self-driving technology to date, but at this stage of functionality, it’s still necessary to keep a guiding hand on the wheel — just in case. Nissan ProPilot Assist handles following distance and lane… Read More...
Alphabet, Inc., the parent company of Google, is considering a major investment into ride-hailing service Lyft. The investment could bring substantial growth opportunities for Lyft, but create some strange bed-fellows at the same time. Bloomberg reports the investment of about $1 billion could come from either Google or CapitalG, Alphabet's venture capital arm. Thus far both companies have declined to… Read More...
Ride-hailing service Lyft has announced an expansion into 32 more U.S. states. The announcement comes as the company looks to seize market share from rival Uber, which is undergoing struggles associated with company mismanagement. Today's announcement means that riders in 40 states can now hail a Lyft car, meaning about 94-percent of the U.S. population has access to the service.… Read More...
Tesla, Inc. has been awarded a contract to build the largest battery system in the world. The electric car maker recently joined 91 other companies in a bid to build a 100-megawatt battery plant in South Australia, which will be the largest every built. Perhaps it comes as little surprise that Tesla and billionaire founder Elon Musk managed to win… Read More...
Ford has announced an available software update to add Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to 2016 model vehicles equipped with the company's SYNC 3 infotainment system. The move is a fairly rare occurrence in the automotive space, where automakers generally do not add retroactive features. Owners of approximately 800,000 2016 models will be able to update their infotainment system three… Read More...
Mercedes-Benz is getting into the home energy storage business in the U.S. The German automaker announced today plans to collaborate with solar provider Vivint to offer its battery expertise for in-home energy storage. The move is apparently an attempt for Mercedes to compete with Tesla and its Powerwall. Last year Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG announced a new subsidiary of the… Read More...
Google is set to showcase its upcoming Android-based vehicle infotainment systems at its I/O conference. The preview will come by way of Audi and Volvo, the first two brands that are expected to leverage Android for their next-generation infotainment systems. The Android operating system is no stranger to the vehicle. In recent years Google and automakers have enabled Android Auto… Read More...
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