2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited on 2040-cars

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We get our hands on Android Auto [w/video]

After a week with version one of Android Auto in a 2015 Hyundai Sonata, my opinion is that it fulfills the promise of the technology. I couldn't even exploit it fully because I'm not married to the Android ecosystem. At my desk right now there's a PC in front of me, an iPad on my left, and an Android phone on my right. My Android phone is, in fact, so old that it's not compatible with Android Auto. So in addition to a Sonata, Hyundai let me borrow a Nexus 5 smartphone and a Motorola Moto360 watch. Yet even with all that gear, which, in practical terms is someone else's borrowed digital life, Android Auto still showed itself to be tech worth having. When you start the Sonata you get the standard Hyundai infotainment screen. Plug your phone in, and you'll get an option to click over to Android Auto. At that point, you lose the ability to use your phone, which is the purpose of the system, to keep you from using the handset. Since the contents of your phone are ported to the head unit, there is hardly any reason to reach for the portable device anyway. The Google Now screen comes up first, populated with a series of notifications resulting from Google having learned your life and kept track of where you've been going, who you've been calling, and what you've been searching for. After only two days, Google Now understood that I probably lived in Venice, CA, and not in Orange County, where the phone had previously resided. No matter the make of car, the interface is the same. The icons along the bottom of the screen indicate Navigation, Phone, Home (Google Now), Audio, and Return – to go back to the car's native interface. The first four options represent much of what we use our phones for (we'll get to texting in a second), and that's what buyers want: for cars to work seamlessly with their phones. Oh, and to have voice recognition actually be useful. Android Auto works with the Hyundai system, so if music is playing when you turn the car on, it will continue to play even though you're in Android Auto, and you can control it through that interface. Switching to media or apps on your phone is as easy as saying, "Play music," which defaults to Google Play, or pressing the audio button and choosing an app like JoyRide or NPR One. You do have to figure out how to speak to the system. I couldn't find any list of Android Auto-specific voice commands, so sometimes it would take a few tries to figure out how Google liked to be ordered around.

Hyundai appoints William Lee as global head of Genesis

SEOUL — Hyundai on Tuesday named its former North American chief, William Lee, to oversee its premium Genesis brand following the departure of Manfred Fitzgerald to pursue new opportunities. Lee faces the challenge of rejuvenating Genesis sales in the U.S. market and making headway in Europe and China, both tough markets to crack for luxury car sales. "The company expects Mr. Lee, in his new capacity, to lead the brand's further global expansion by leveraging his overseas business operations expertise," Hyundai said in a statement. "North America is an imperative market for the Genesis brand," it added. The news follows the appointment this month of Mark Del Rosso, a former president of Audi America, to oversee Genesis operations in North America. Genesis U.S. sales halved to 10,312 last year, although sales have picked up this year. The United States is the biggest overseas market for Genesis, which generated 72% of its sales in South Korea last year. Before his stint at Hyundai Motor North America, Lee oversaw Hyundai's Brazil operations and the U.S. unit of advertising arm Innocean Worldwide. Hyundai said in a recent earnings conference call that it has set up Genesis sales operations for China and Europe. Hyundai Motor Group's heir apparent Euisun Chung introduced the Genesis brand in November 2015, bringing in Fitzgerald, a former Lamborghini executive, a few months later to help the automaker shed its value for money image. Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Genesis Hyundai Luxury

Hyundai Blue Link Android smartwatch app will start your car

We knew Hyundai would be bringing its Blue Link smartwatch app to the Consumer Electronics Show, and now that CES is upon us, the app's workings have been revealed. Once you get the free Blue Link app on your smartphone and your Android smartwatch and pair them up with the app, it's all systems go. Through either touch or voice commands, you can remotely lock or unlock your car doors, start and stop your engine, flash the lights and honk the horn, or have your watch locate your car. It works on every Hyundai with first- or second-gen Blue Link (which is all of them in the case of first-gen and the 2015 Genesis, Sonata and Azera for second-gen). The watch app isn't quite ready yet, but the company says you'll be able to get it sometime in Q1. There's a video above showing Hyundai's offering at work, and a press release below with more information below. HYUNDAI BLUE LINK TO DEBUT SMARTWATCH APP WITH VOICE RECOGNITION AT 2015 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW AND PEPCOM'S DIGITAL EXPERIENCE - Next Generation Blue Link System to Launch on 2016 Elantra GT and Veloster - The Blue Link smartwatch app works with first and second generation Blue Link equipped Hyundai models Fountain Valley, Calif., Jan. 2, 2015 – Smartwatch sales are skyrocketing and starting early in 2015 Hyundai owners will be able to connect with their cars using these wearable devices and the Hyundai Blue Link® smartwatch app. Hyundai will debut and demonstrate the Blue Link smartwatch app at Pepcom's Digital Experience and at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES®). Pepcom's Digital Experience takes place before CES on Jan. 5 and Hyundai's exhibit (North Hall, booth #2818) at CES will be open Jan. 6-9, 2015. Hyundai's cloud-based Blue Link platform allows features like remote start and service information to be quickly accessed through devices like smartwatches and smartphones. Hyundai partnered with Station Digital Media to develop the Blue Link smartwatch app. "This new app expands Hyundai's exploration into how wearable technology and Blue Link fit into a customer's lifestyle," said Barry Ratzlaff, executive director, customer connect and service business development, Hyundai Motor America. "Connecting to your car through a smartwatch and voice recognition was previously something seen only in science fiction movies. Now, we can provide this capability to owners of Hyundai vehicles equipped with Blue Link." The app is easy to use.