2015 Kia Lx on 2040-cars

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Hyundai and Kia will offer AI assistants in 2019 cars

Hyundai and Kia both have reputations as early adopters of in-car tech, and that's truer than ever now that voice assistants are becoming a practical reality on the road. The Korean automakers have revealed that they plan to include AI assistants in their new cars starting from 2019, with every vehicle being "connected" by 2025. As Hyundai explained, they've been working with SoundHound to create an Intelligent Personal Agent (based on Houndify) that both makes proactive suggestions (such as reminding you of a meeting) and offers remote control of both your car and your home. This sounds a whole lot like what other voice assistants do, but the car brands are counting on support for "multiple-command recognition" as the ace up their sleeve. If you tell your car to check the weather and turn on the lights at the same time, it'll do both instead of scratching its head like so many other AI helpers. You won't have to wait until 2019 to see the technology in action. Hyundai will unveil Intelligent Personal Agent at CES 2018, and it'll test a "simplified" take on the Agent in hydrogen fuel cell cars slated to drive on South Korean roads throughout the year. It's hard to say if IPA will have an advantage over companies borrowing "off-the-shelf" AI like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, but it's more the ubiquity that will be important -- you won't have to buy a premium-priced model to treat your car like a smart home hub.Reporting by Jon Fingas for Engadget.Related Video: Image Credit: Hyundai Auto News CES Hyundai Kia Technology Emerging Technologies CES 2018

2020 Kia Tellurides recalled for seatbelt problem

Just over 30,000 2020 Kia Telluride SUVs are being recalled in the U.S. due to a seatbelt installation problem. Year to date, Kia hasn’t sold much more than 30,000 Tellurides, so the recall applies to nearly every Telluride on the road right now. Documents posted on the NHTSAÂ’s website explain that the wrong seatbelt assemblies may have been installed in certain Tellurides. Instead of American-spec assemblies, Kia says the Middle East-spec seatbelt assemblies may have been installed on some Tellurides. HereÂ’s why thatÂ’s an issue: Kia states that the seatbelts in the passenger seat, second row and third row may not be equipped with an automatic locking retractor (ALR) feature. In case you werenÂ’t familiar with the terminology, automatic locking retractor belts are seatbelts that lock into place once theyÂ’re snug to whatever theyÂ’re holding — they lock into place, instead of allowing a passenger to tug them back out again. This is necessary for securing child seats into place via the seatbelt, because you donÂ’t want there to be any give or movement in a crash. U.S. regulations require that every forward-facing seat that isnÂ’t the driverÂ’s seat has the ALR feature so that a child seat can be properly secured in it. Kia says “If a non-ALR seat belt is used to secure a child seat in the front passenger, second or third row seats, it may not tightly secure a child restraint system, increasing the risk of injury to a child seat occupant in a crash.” As of now, there are no reported deaths or injuries as a result of this issue. Owners of these potentially affected Tellurides will have to bring their vehicles into the dealer to be inspected. If they have the non-ALR Middle East-spec seatbelts installed in them, Kia will change them out for American-spec belt assemblies free of charge. The recall is scheduled to begin Aug. 30, so owners should expect a notification in the mail soon. This recall is the first experienced by the popular Telluride SUV.

2014 Kia Optima is better by a nose

Kia is showing off a slew of vehicles here in New York, including the ever-so-slightly refreshed 2014 Optima sedan you see here. The brunt of the changes surround the new front fascia, with repositioned LED lighting above the headlamp units and some new quad-LED fogs rounding of a touched-up front bumper. At the rear, Kia has reworked the taillamps, and of course, LEDs are found there, as well.
Other changes to the Optima for 2014 include the additions of two new displays inside the cabin - a 4.3-inch TFT display in the gauge cluster and a larger, eight-inch high-resolution screen that houses the navigation and infotainment data. There are also new seats inside the Optima, which are hopefully more comfortable and offer better bolstering than the decidedly flat chairs found in the current car, plus Kia has added available new safety features like blind spot monitoring and cross-traffic alert.
The powertrain offerings have not changed for 2014 - base cars still get a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter engine while the SX models get the 2.0-liter turbo. There is, however, a new Drive Mode Select system specifically for the SX, which adjusts transmission shift points and steering weight for a more engaging dynamic, or so we're told. (The Optima Hybrid model did receive upgrades to its battery and electric motor just recently, but those changes technically hit during the 2013 model year - it is not immediately clear if the gas-electric model will receive the updates shown here).