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A very special Ferrari will be featured at Europe’s biggest pre-season motorsport show, Autosport International. The car in question is the legendary F2004, the very F1 car that dominated the 2004 season. It helped Micheal Schumacher to clinch his 7th world championship title. It also secured 15 pole positions that year, 13 for Schumacher.

The F2004 still holds the lap record for seven different racetracks, 5 of which are still part of the Formula 1 calendar. Between Schumacher and teamate Rubens Barrichello, the car managed to secure 12 pole positions during that same season.

Several minor changes were made from the previous year’s specifications that include the rear wing, which was made larger, the rear suspension was redesigned to reduce excessive tyre wear and the exhausts were made smaller, allowing for aerodynamic benefits. It is powered by a 3.0-litre V10 engine that produces close to 1000bhp.

The car will be featured alongside Ferrari FXX-K Evo, Ferrari 488 Challenge and a 488 GTE on the main Ferrari feature, which aims to highlight the Course Clients. This is Ferrari’s exclusive client racing programme, from Challenge car to GT car, through the XX development cars to Formula One.

It’s Ferrari’s way of preparing owners to better handle their vehicles as well as their readiness to handle professional competition. It’s a driving academy worthy of praise. Owners have the support and backing of a professional crew during the sessions.

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.

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