Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Shows off Apple’s CarPlay integration!

Apple has launched its CarPlay feature to give drivers a “smarter, safer, and more fun” way to use iPhones in cars. It’s clear that Apple intends for the iPhone to be the center of car electronics. And to do that, it has to own your dashboard.

Premiering at the Geneva International Motor Show later this week, CarPlay lets you make calls, use maps, listen to music, and access messages with just a spoken word or a single touch on a touchscreen. You can use the car’s native interface or push-and-hold the voice control button on a steering wheel to activate the Siri voice-driven artificial intelligence on an iPhone. That helps reduce distractions when you’re driving.

Cars from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo will premiere CarPlay to their drivers this week. Others working on CarPlay features in the future include BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota Motor.

“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. “iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips, and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction. We have an amazing lineup of auto partners rolling out CarPlay, and we’re thrilled it will make its debut this week in Geneva.”

When an iPhone is connected to a vehicle with CarPlay integration, Siri can help you easily access your contacts, make calls, return missed calls, or listen to voicemails. When incoming messages or notifications arrive, Siri will be able to provide an eyes-free experience by responding to requests through voice commands, by reading drivers’ messages and letting them dictate responses or simply make a call.

CarPlay can also make driving directions more intuitive using Apple Maps. It can anticipate destinations based on recent trips via contacts, emails, or texts, and it provides routing instructions, traffic conditions, and estimated time of arrival. You can also ask Siri for spoken turn-by-turn directions, along with Maps, which will appear on your car’s built-in display. You can also access music, podcasts, audiobooks, and iTunes Radio via CarPlay.

CarPlay is available as an update to iOS 7 and works with Lightning-enabled iPhones, including iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5. It will debut in select cars in 2014.

Car maker Volvo was quick to post a video showing it off in action. Not to be outdone by Volvo, rival Mercedes-Benz has now shared additional tidbits pertaining to how it plans to integrate CarPlay into an upcoming C-Class.

And just like Volvo, Mercedes-Benz is keeping its options open by not pledging exclusive support for CarPlay. In addition to its own in-car entertainment system, the company is going to support not only Apple’s CarPlay, but also Android-based in-car infotainment system when it launches later this year. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty…

According to Mercedes’s press release, Prof. Dr Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, made it clear that his company will pursue a multi-platform approach.

Specifically, Mercedes-Benz intends to continue to offer its existing solutions such as Drive Kit Plus, Digital DriveStyle App, COMAND Online and Mercedes-Benz apps, all putting the power of smartphone apps at drivers’ disposal.

The company showed off CarPlay integration in a new C-Class at the Geneva Motor Show. Like Volvo, Mercedes-Benz will also allow drivers to use both its own and Apple’s solution simultaneously.

Support for Android-based smartphones will be available from the middle of the year, as soon as Google brings its own in-car infotainment system to market.

Back in January, Google announced the Open Automotive Alliance, an in-car Android integration initiative which aims to replicate Google’s success with Android on mobile devices, only in your car.

Update: 

Ferrari shows off CarPlay integration with last-century resistive touchscreen tech

Apple to launch iOS in the Car next week with Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz

Nearly a year after its introduction, it looks like Apple is finally ready to launch iOS in the Car. The Financial Times is reporting that the company plans to introduce the new feature next week with 3 major launch partners: Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.

Oddly enough, the Times doesn’t mention the project by name, but says that drivers will be able to use Apple’s ‘in-car operating system’ to use Apple Maps, watch movies, listen to music, make phone calls and send messages using the vehicle’s in-dash display…

Here’s more from The Financial Times:

First the mobile phone, now the car. Having revolutionised personal communication Apple now wants to change the way we drive. The technology group will next week launch its first in-car operating system with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo as it attempts to take the lead in a fierce race to dominate tomorrow’s smart cars. […]

The deal marks the first time that Apple is embedding its software in devices other than its own branded products. The choice of the Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz is seen to be in keeping with the US tech group’s high-end phones.”

The outlet goes on to say that the official announcement of the launch will be made at next week’s Geneva Motor Show. And a number of other manufacturers are expected to incorporate iOS in the Car into their 2014 models including Audi, Honda, Acura and BMW.

Last fall, Tim Cook called iOS in the Car “an important part of Apple’s ecosystem,” and the company continues to show interest in the automobile space. SVP Eddy Cue sits on Ferrari’s board, and Tim Cook reportedly met with Tesla last year to discuss a possible buyout.

In March of 2013, Bloomberg reported that Ferrari would be broadening its relationship with Apple.

Porsche Introduces The “Porsche Macan” Compact SUV

Porsche has expanded into the compact sports-utility vehicle market by introducing the macan, adopting the DNA of the ’918 spyder’, the company’s first hybrid super car. the top-of-the-line ‘S’ model boasts a 400 horsepower 3.6-litre V6 bi-turbo engine, which when paired with active all-wheel drive and a seven-speed double-clutch transmission, catapults the sports SUV from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds. making its debut at the 2013 los angeles auto show, the ‘macan’ positions itself just below the cayenne, offering a high level of comfort and versatility with performance numbers comparable to the likes of the porsche 911 carrera.

For its facade, the macan bases its headlight and tail light design off the 918 spyder, which features compact three-dimensional LED technology. inside, the SUV position the driver as if they were inside a sports car; the cockpit integrates a multi-function sports steering wheel equipped with paddle shifters and is outfitted with premium leather sports seats.

Porsche has expanded into the compact SUV market by introducing the macan, adopting the DNA of the ’918 spyder’

the top-of-the-line ‘S’ model boasts a 400 horsepower 3.6-litre V6 bi-turbo engine

the macan features an active all-wheel drive system with a seven-speed double-clutch gearbox

the macan bases its headlight and tail light design off the 918 spyder

the cockpit integrates a multi-function sports steering wheel and is equipped with paddle shifters

BMW i8 finally revealed at Frankfurt motor show!

BMW i8 hybrid supercar revealed as production car to go on sale later in 2013

The BMW i8 hybrid supercar has been revealed at the Frankfurt motor show, four years after the Vision EfficientDynamics concept was unveiled at the same show.

The look has mellowed in its journey from concept to reality, but the low nose and tail, flowing flanks and dramatic doors ensure the i8 looks like nothing else.

The four-seater is a little bigger than an Audi R8, at 4,689mm long, 1,942mm wide and 1,293mm high, with a 2,800mm wheelbase. But because it’s made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and aluminium, the i8 weighs 1,490kg – that’s 70kg less than the lightest R8.

Also helping to keep weight down is the drivetrain. The rear wheels are powered by BMW’s new 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine. It produces 228bhp and is hooked up to a six-speed auto box. The front axle uses a mid-mounted lithium-ion battery to power a 129bhp electric motor, giving a total of 357bhp.

The car has an electric range of 22 miles at up to 75mph with an overall range of 310 miles, plus 113mpg fuel economy and 59g/km CO2 emissions.

With both power sources engaged, the i8 will go from 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds and hit a limited 155mph.

BMW also claims that the i8 will set new handling standards. Its centre of gravity is ‘less than 460mm,’ making it the lowest of any BMW, while the firm claims that despite the i8’s novel drivetrain, it retains almost perfect 50:50 front:rear weight distribution.

All i8s come with Dynamic Damper Control as standard, plus a host of driving modes that let you drive in a more economical or more sporting fashion.

Optional features include CFRP wheels, which save 3kg each compared to the standard-fit 20-inch alloys. If full LED headlights aren’t quite bright enough for you, there’s also the option of super-bright laser headlights that BMW claims are a world first.

The i8 is also the first to use the same chemically hardened glass that smartphone screens are made from. BMW selected the glass for the rear window because it’s lighter, stronger and offers better sound proofing.

Interior features include a free-standing display for the car’s functions and infotainment, digital dials and a head-up display.

The i8 goes on sale in late 2013, for around £100,000.

BMW 2 Series caught uncovered during shoot!

Before we know it, the BMW 1 Series will be no more in the United States. Well, sort of. The current six-year-old coupe and convertible will be replaced by the fancy new 2 Series you see here, spotted completely uncovered during a photo shoot, with the 1 Series nomenclature being reserved for the hatchback and GT models that might not ever make it Stateside.

The roofline of the new 2 Series doesn’t appear to have to changed all that much from the current 1 Series coupe, but the front and rear fascias have indeed been smoothed out. (Truth time: As much as your author adores the 1 Series, he’s always found its rear end to be, well, weird.) It looks good, seen here in M235i guise, with large wheels, slimmer headlamps and large air intakes on either side of the front fascia.

The 2 Series is expected to come to the States, likely in M235i and 228i variants, though rumors suggest that we won’t get a non-M 235i model. The M235i is expected to be powered by the N55 turbocharged inline-six that we currently enjoy in the 335i sedan, producing something like 320 horsepower. The 228i, unsurprisingly, should use the 2.0-liter turbo-four from the 328i, making around 240 hp. Both engines will almost certainly employ eight-speed automatic transmissions and six-speed manuals.

Look for the new coupe to make its official debut in the coming months, with production scheduled to start in November.