By Karl Peskett.
Voice commands are everywhere these days. From your smartphone, to your smartwatch, your home and your car. Most voice-based systems in cars, however, are either bespoke to each manufacturer’s infotainment system (iDrive, MMI, MBUX, etc) or they use Apple CarPlay to control the phone.
Amazon has had its Alexa system for your house, much like Google Home, but now it has come up with a solution for your vehicle.
It’s called the Amazon Echo Auto, and it’s a tiny dashtop device which pairs to your car’s Bluetooth or you can even use a 3.5mm auxiliary jack. It uses the phone’s signal to connect to the Amazon cloud system allowing you to have Alexa on the go.
Talk to Alexa like you would at home and it can give you navigation and information on points of interest you ask it about. It also has a built-in location service which will sense when you’re arriving home and if you have smart wiring in your house, it can unlock the front door and turn on the lights ready for you.
Eight tiny microphones allow it to work in anything from silent EVs through to loud muscle cars. The cost? Around US$50, but there’s an invitational price of just US$25 currently. Why so cheap? The cynics might suggest that data mining is the real objective here, but you know what they say – convenience always comes at the cost of security.
Santa Fe puts safety first
We’re still awaiting crash test results on the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe from ANCAP, but America has lauded the seven-seat SUV for its safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given the big Hyundai its Top Safety Pick Plus, the highest score possible.
Clearly, on the safety front, it’s well stocked, with autonomous braking, stability control, plenty of airbags and good crumple zones. But one area that IIHS looks at which isn’t part of ANCAP or even EuroNCAP testing is headlights. It makes sense, given good visibility at night forms an integral part of a vehicle’s safety package.
But only the higher-specced models received a score of “Good” for the lights. The LED headlamps fitted to the upper grades outshone (sorry) the regular halogens which only received a score of “Marginal”.
Given these results, we’re expecting a five star result from ANCAP, especially since the previous Santa Fe received that score. But given ANCAPs introduction of stricter standards, we’ll have to wait and see.
More power for the raging bull
Since 2014, Lamborghini’s most popular model ever, the Huracan, has been winning people over with its wedge-like styling, raucous V10 timbre and daily drivability. Since then, Ferrari has launched its 488 GTB, and the Fezza’s styling and performance has certainly put a dent in the Lambo’s presence.
As the two companies always do, Lamborghini leapfrogged with an even more powerful version, the Huracan Performante. And then Ferrari came out with the 488 Pista. Now, it appears, the 2019 version of the Huracan is set to get even more power.
The V10 will be bumped to around 475kW, the transmission will be fettled for faster shifting and the exhaust system will take inspiration from the Performante variant. Active aero could even be included, judging by the prototypes currently running around.
Either way, Ferrari will certainly have something to say about it….
