2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0t on 2040-cars

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Porsche, Hyundai invest in WayRay augmented reality for road and track

A number of incipient future technologies such as solid state batteries, Level 5 autonomy, and augmented reality simply await the breakthrough moments that will enable mass-market scalability. The last one of those took another step closer to its breakthrough with news of Porsche leading an $80 million Series C investment round for six-year-old Switzerland-based AR startup WayRay. The German carmaker was joined in the augmented reality play by Hyundai, JVCKENWOOD, China Merchants Capital, a group of sovereign wealth funds, and Alibaba Group, a previous investor. Porsche tied up with WayRay earlier this year on an AR project during Startup Autobahn, a European initiative devoted to automotive innovation. Sounds like the cooperation proved fruitful, with Porsche saying, "Their innovative ideas and products have great potential. We are convinced that on this basis we'll be able to offer our clients customized Porsche solutions," and putting its money where its windshield is. Blue chips have apparently backed the company because its AR solution is better than others out there, being smaller than competitor units, adaptable to any make and model, and usable over a much wider field of view, easing the strain on a driver's eyes. Hyundai said it wants to use the technology in its cars, and for applications beyond vehicles like an entire AR ecosystem incorporating smart buildings and smart cities. On the mundane safety side, the AR system could highlight crosswalks, warning signs, parking spots, construction zones, and provide more precise navigation directions all within the driver's natural line-of-sight. Porsche, unsurprisingly, is thinking about the performance aspects and widening the suite of digital services it can offer to customers. A short video and a series of graphics showed how a potential WayRay system could enhance the driving experience, especially on track. The Porsche driver not only gets an image of the ideal driving line laid down ahead of him, he could get prompts for braking and turning, a "ghost" car acting as rabbit to show him where he gains and loses time, lap times, track position, and more. As much as this kind of feature makes sense for the Porsche brand and the new Cayman GT4 owner working to hook up his personal best at his local track, WayRay's possibilities seem like an even better boon for hypercar buyers.

2020 Hyundai Palisade Preview Drive | The bigger they come

SEOUL — Hyundai can build big, spectacular things. In 2014 it created the CSCL Globe, the world's largest container ship at the time. With a 77,200-hp two-stroke engine and a deck the size of four soccer fields, it can deliver 19,000 shipping containers anywhere in the world. By comparison, the new 2020 Hyundai Palisade isn't all that large — but it will soon become the brand's biggest and most powerful SUV ever. About the size of the Ford Explorer and the popular Honda Pilot, the Palisade is already on sale in South Korea, where it is assembled at Hyundai's massive plant in Ulsan alongside the Tucson, Ioniq and Veloster. But the replacement for the Santa Fe XL won't hit Hyundai's American dealerships until summer 2019. It's part of an SUV onslaught by the automaker, which has just introduced the smaller Kona and Santa Fe models. And Hyundai says there's more to come. Unlike the Ford Explorer, which will soon return to a traditional rear-wheel drive architecture, the 2020 Hyundai Palisade uses a new front-wheel drive chassis it will share with the coming Kia Telluride. The SUV is 3 inches longer, about 3.5 inches wider and over 2 inches taller than the Santa Fe XL, and its wheelbase has grown 4 inches. That matches the Nissan Pathfinder at 114.2 inches, and outstretches the Explorer, Pilot and Toyota Highlander. However, the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave share a 120.9-inch wheelbase, and at 204.3 inches long they've got 8 inches of length on the Palisade. Despite all that size, the Palisade doesn't feel like a container ship from behind its leather-wrapped steering wheel. After two cold snowy days driving Korean-market spec Palisades around northern South Korea, both on and off road, we flew home to California impressed by the SUV's dynamics, packaging and comfort. Inside, the Palisade's front seats are firm with significant bolstering, and the seating position is perfect. Hyundai has gotten the details right, even carving the SUV's A-pillars extra thin to better your forward view. Fit and finish are impressive, coming close to Genesis levels with our test car's quilted Nappa leather, suede headliner and knurled knobs. Its pale striped wood trim, although fake, pulls off the yacht feel SangYup Lee, Hyundai's Head of Global Design, says he was going for. By the way, before joining Hyundai, Lee was the lead designer at Bentley, where he created that company's first SUV, the Bentayga.

Google's new Android Autos OS unveiled, will be in cars this year [w/video]

Connected cars are coming en-masse. We know this much. How, though, remains something of an open question, especially as two of the world's largest tech companies are preparing to battle for control of your car's dashboard. On the one hand, we have Apple and its CarPlay system. And now, we know what Google has been working on with Auto Link.
Its new name is Android Auto, and yes, it's based off the Android architecture that is the primary challenger to Apple's iOS mobile operating system. Announced at Google's I/O conference today, Android Auto functions similarly to CarPlay - owners will need to plug their smartphones into their cars to access the full breadth of capability.
In Android Auto's case, that means a wealth of voice controls to limit distracted driving. Google's marquee apps will be available when the interface arrives in production models later this year, including Google Play Music, Google Maps and voice-activated texting and text playback. Meanwhile, developers will be able to begin designing custom apps for the new system via an upcoming software development kit.