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Hyundai is collaborating with SoundHound In., to bring an intelligent voice command system to its fleet of vehicles by 2019. This voice recognition assistant is based on SoundHound’s Houndify artificial intelligence (AI) platform, optimized for in-vehicle applications. It processes drivers’ voice requests by communicating with the SoundHound AI server.

Similar in function to Google’s Voice Assistant or Apple’s Siri, Hyundai’s AI assistant will be able to make phone calls, send text messages, search destinations and music, activate air-conditioning, sunroofs and door locks. Drivers need only say ‘Hi, Hyundai’ then their desired request, and the AI assistant will spring to action.

Besides this, the system is also able to predict a driver’s needs and prepare the required information. For example, it will be able provide reminders for upcoming meetings and suggest departure times depending on traffic conditions. It will even be able to control your electronic devices at home through the Car-to-Home service.

“Sophisticated voice recognition and AI integration are core to effectively providing drivers with the massive content and data that future connected vehicles have to offer,” said Paul Choo, Director of Infotainment Development Group at Hyundai Motor Company.

“We spent a decade developing Houndify, the most advanced voice AI platform, to enable partners the ability to create customized experiences for their products,” said Keyvan Mohajer, Founder & CEO of SoundHound Inc.

Hyundai will unveil its new AI assistant during CES 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada in January. It’s functions will be demonstrated through a connected car cockpit equipped with the feature. At the moment the system only supports English, but compatibility for other major languages will be introduced in the near future.

An unusual vehicle has managed to find it’s way into Jay Leno’s garage this Christmas. Purposefully built as a troop carrier in its previous life, this 1942 Dodge Carryall has been restored and modified to a level that will make it the envy of the restomod fraternity. It was part of Dodge’s light military vehicle line-up that included weapon carriers, mobile workshops and several other applications.

Built to support the allied efforts in World War II, more than 255,000 such vehicles were produced in the span of about 5 years. It’s not known how many of them are still on the road today, many have probably ended up in salvage yards or live on as parts of other similar vehicles.

In this episode of Jay Leno’s garage, the former Tonight’s Show host gives this custom creation a once over, and speaks with the owner about its history. Like other guests on the show, this particular Dodge has an important story to tell. Since it rolled off the production line, the Carryall has seen it’s fair share of action, and since its been given a life lane, that should continue for the foreseeable future.

Check out the latest video and let us know if the Dodge Carryall deserves to be celebrated for it’s place in history, and as one of the nicest restomoded vintage trucks that currently roam the public roads.

Nissan has done a little reshuffling before the start of 2018 in the form of appointing Hideyuki Sakamoto to executive vice president, manufacturing, supply chain management, and Denis Le Vot to senior vice president and chairman of the management committee for Nissan North America.

Sakamoto will be vacating his position as executive vice president, product engineering, in order to take on his new role. Despite this change, which will be effective January 1st 2018, he will continue to report to Chief Competitive Officer, Yasuhiro Yamauchi.

Since 1980, Sakamoto has been at Nissan and has served a number roles including multiple chief vehicle engineer positions, as well as corporate vice president, Nissan PV Product Development Division. Le Volt on the other hand, has enjoyed a fulfilling career at Nissan’s sister company, Renault since 1990.

Throughout his career at the French automaker, Le Volt has held several aftersales positions as well as that of vice president, marketing and sales for the Eurasia region and chief operating officer of Renault Russia. Evidently, both men bring a substantial amount of experience and expertise to their new roles at the company.

The Lincoln Navigator has been given some pretty interesting tech that will help curb distracted driving as well as make vehicular information more presentable. It has been fitted with advanced head-up-display (HUD) technology that is fully customisable. This is the same digital light processing that is used in movie theaters.

Ford says that the display remains clearly visible on the windshield despite being hit with direct sun light or, when viewed through polarized sunglasses. The system consists of a tiny chip that contains 400,000 sturdy mirrors, each with a pixel refresh rate of up to 5,000 hertz operating in synchronized movement to control the system’s optics.

The picture is then projected in full colour, upwards, providing an illusion that it’s float just above the vehicle’s hood. The emphasis, of a system such as this is, reducing screen clutter and focusing on the timing and size of the information. The chosen info is projected as and when needed. And as its importance increases, its displayed more prominently.

“A typical head-up display duplicates information displayed on the cluster,” said Anthony King, development lead on Lincoln’s all-new head-up display. “But this display makes for a unique and easy-to-use experience for our clients.”

He later added, “This eminently visible head-up display and the instrument cluster serve to complement each other to ensure Lincoln clients look forward to every time behind the wheel.”

Current speed and stipulated speed limits remain visible at all times, but other information, change when the driver receive a call or when a navigation prompt is needed. Due to its relative importance, this information is displayed clearly and brightly with greater prominence.

HUD technology isn’t new, several upmarket cars have utilized it for years to keep drivers’ eyes on the road at all times. But Lincoln’s approach, is just a little bit smarter, its system does the thinking for the driver, negating the need for him/her to faff about with the display settings.

Alfa Romeo has won a couple of accolades at this year’s Car of the Year Awards organised by Evo Magazine UK. Two different variants of the Giulia took home these awards, which is no easy feat. The Quadrifoglio was crowned Supersaloon of the Year whole the Veloce was named Sports Saloon of the Year.

Alfa’s Quadrifoglio features the same elegant contours as the standard Giulia but is powered by a potent turbocharged V6 engine that produces 510bp and 600Nm of torque. The car can sprint from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 275km/h. It is the most powerful and expensive Giulia in the range, making it the complete package.

Sitting directly below it is the Veloce, which may not have the same brute power as the Quadrifoglio but compensates for that, with finesse and 50:50 weight distribution. Under its hood is a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that is coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the rear wheels.

Andrew Tracey, Sales and Marketing Director for Alfa Romeo, said, “To have two models in the Alfa Romeo Giulia range recognized in evo’s Car of the Year 2017 is a huge achievement for Alfa Romeo and is testimony to the passion and dedication that went into building a beautiful sports saloon with outstanding performance and sector-first technology.”

Alfa Romeo has been at the top of its game these past few years, by consistently churning absolute stunners. Unlike the old days, its latest crop of cars have been able to complement their svelte looks with the power and handling that are worthy of the name. And with Alfa joining F1 next year, things should heat up in the industry, even more.

This has been a good year for the British engine manufacturing business. Despite the economic turmoil caused by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, this sector hasn’t been affected. In fact, The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) states that the UK has seen substantial investments in this area for 2017.

In November alone, 279,532 engines were produced compared to just 250,879 during the same period last year. Year-to-date (YTD) figures tell a similar story with 2,544,575 engines built this year compared to 2,387,044 in 2016. About 54.6% of all engines that were made in 2017, were meant for export markets.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “2017 has been a very robust year for UK engine manufacturing, with huge investments into new facilities and engine models delivering impressive dividends both at home and overseas.”

This is good news for the region considering that Brexit hasn’t been easy for either side, threatening to wreak havoc for several industries that rely on mutual partnerships. Many consider the UK as the technology capital of the world. Most Formula 1 teams operate from within the UK due to the unrivaled wealth of knowledge and expertise available.

Once the separation is complete however, things may not look as rosy. There is a high probability that it could cause a ripple effect that will affect other parts of the globe. The magnitude of this problem will depend on how well, British PM, Theresa May and her government are able to navigate the country past the messy divorce.

Acura, Honda’s North American luxury sub-brand will be unveiling the new 2019 RDX prototype at the upcoming 2018 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The vehicle incorporates key design elements from the Acura Precision Concept and Acura Precision Cockpit.

Unlike its predecessor, the new RDX is designed and developed in the USA using the new Acura-exclusive platform. It’s angular contours, wide haunches and commanding presence make for an extremely appealing crossover SUV. The menacing front fascia and large LED headlamps are a welcomed edition to the 2019 model year.

This third-generation RDX gets an all-new interior design, user interface and operating system built and designed from scratch. Though the exact details have yet to be revealed, we are guessing that it should feature the automaker’s suite of cutting edge tech featured in the rest of its premium vehicles.

Acura’s RDX is one of the best selling vehicles in the premium-entry SUV segment for the US market. This particular segment has been steadily growing with each passing year, and is on a path to unseat the dominance and desirability of premium sedans.

Fans of The Fast & Furious movie franchise who aren’t happy waiting a couple of years for the release of the next installment, will be happy to know that the F&F Live show exists. During this live event, a number of supped up performance cars will be driven around the arena in a manner that closely resemble maneuvers depicted in the movies.

Mitsubishi UK has decided to partner the live show by providing several stunt and support vehicles. Cars that will perform these stunts include a Lancer Evolution that is part of a unique interactive segment of Fast & Furious Live. A fleet of Mitsubishi L200/Triton pickup trucks will be tasked with assisting the show’s production team.

“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Mitsubishi’s turbocharged presence to our live-arena production,” said James Cooke-Priest, CEO, Fast Live Productions. “The audience will expect to see this famously fast Japanese brand mixing it up in the live action, and we’re very excited at the support Mitsubishi is providing the show.”

The Japanese automaker has had a long and illustrious relationship with the movie franchise since the The Fast and The Furious first hit the silver screen. Brian O’ Conner’s (Paul Walker) Green Mitsubishi Eclipse, Yellow Mitsubishi Evolution VII and Roman Pierce’s (Tyrese) Purple Eclipse Spider, are sometimes revered more than the show’s stars.

And with Fast & Furious Live, Fast Live Productions, the maker of the show plans on rekindling some of the action packed and adrenaline pumping scenes of F&F. It aims to recreate stunts depicted in the movies with cars and locations that criss-cross the various installments. Key scenes will be recreated via state-of-the-art 3D projection mapping.

The show’s producers say that the experience will transport fans straight into an immersive extension of the Fast & Furious movies. Fast & Furious Live’s global tour will kick off in the UK in January of 2018. If you would like to know more about it, CLICK HERE.

This year has rewarded Bugatti with a decent level of properity. It’s highly-acclaimed hypercar, the Chiron has been well received by fans and customers alike. So much so, that the automaker has managed to fulfill it’s quota of selling 70 vehicles this year. This brings the total vehicles made to about 300 from a maximum of 500 Chiron cars that will ever be built.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. said, “It is a tremendous success for the entire Bugatti team that we have already reached the target of 70 vehicles in the first full year of production of the Chiron. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our suppliers for their commitment and delivery compliance.”

So far, 43% of sales of the Chiron have come from various parts of Europe, 26% have come North America, 23% from the Middle East and 8% from the Asia-Pacific region. Production of the mind-bending Chiron started in 2016 with first customer deliveries beginning sometime in March of this year.

Bugatti’s headquarters in  Molsheim, Alsace serves as the car’s production area. And the process of building a single vehicle, takes tremendous amount of time and a number of skilled technicians working together. The vehicle is powered by an 8.0-litre W16 engine that produces 1,479bhp. Until recently, it’s performance was unrivaled, but that changed once Koenigsegg wanted a piece of the action.

The Genesis GV80 Concept SUV and G80 Sport mid-luxury sedan both picked up accolades at the 2017 GOOD DESIGN® awards. Organised by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, this recognition lends credence to the notion that the automaker is fully able to produce some spectacular looking vehicles.

Genesis joins other transportation, electronic, consumer and lifestyle product brands at this year’s award ceremony. The GV80 Concept is the automaker’s interpretation of a luxury yet versatile SUV. It combines suave looks with cutting edge technology and performance. The G80 however is an improvement over its predecessor both in terms of power and styling.

“We believe in the power of design to seduce and inspire the human spirit,” said Erwin Raphael, General Manager of Genesis Motor America. “We’re pleased that GOOD DESIGN® is a mainstay recognition going well into its seventh decade and couldn’t be happier to accept their acknowledgement of our dedication to design.”

The GOOD DESIGN® awards is the oldest of its kind, founded in 1950 by designers, Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and by architecture historian and philanthropist, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. Each year, a panel of experts get together in San Francisco and New York to review award-worthy products from 46 different countries then decides the winners.

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