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Sunday Drive: Big debuts from the Big Apple dominated the headlines

New York Auto Show week has come and gone, and, not surprisingly, the week's biggest bits of news came from the halls of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in NYC. Our favorite debut from New York was the Lincoln Aviator, a sharp-dresses crossover that looks lovely inside and out, and sits on underpinnings at least partly derived from the Ford Mustang. While the Aviator may have caught our attention, it wasn't the most popular vehicle debut from New York, at least when judging by the number of page views here on Autoblog. That distinction goes to the 2019 Toyota RAV4, and we're hardly surprised. The RAV4 is the most popular compact crossover in America (in fact it's the most popular vehicle that isn't a pickup truck), and the 2019 version looks like a radical departure from the model that came before. We can't wait to drive the thing. Midsize sedans may not be the darling of the family car set, that honor taken over by the aforementioned crossover, but they still sell in large enough numbers that a brand-new model catches our attention. Such is the case with the 2019 Nissan Altima. We broke down the specs of the Altima and compared Nissan's bread-and-butter sedan with its biggest rivals. And finally, we got some official figures for the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt. It'll cost a cool $12,000 over the cost of a Mustang GT, and will benefit from a 480-horsepower, 420-pound-foot version of Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8 engine. As always, stay tuned this week for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. 2018 New York Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery | Start spreading the news 2019 Toyota RAV4 actually looks pretty cool 2019 Nissan Altima vs Honda Accord vs Toyota Camry: How they compare 2019 Mustang Bullitt orders open as Ford reveals price and horsepower Image Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty New York Auto Show Ford Lincoln Nissan Toyota Coupe Crossover SUV Sedan 2018 new york auto show

Green self-driving cars take center stage in Tokyo

Visions of cars that drive themselves without emitting a bit of pollution while entertaining passengers with online movies and social media are what's taking center stage at the Tokyo Motor Show. Japan, home to the world's top-selling automaker, has a younger generation disinterested in owning or driving cars. The show is about wooing them back. It's also about pushing an ambitious government-backed plan that paints Japan as a leader in automated driving technology. Reporters got a preview look at the exhibition Wednesday, ahead of its opening to the public Oct. 30. Nissan Motor Co. showed a concept vehicle loaded with laser scanners, a 360 degree camera setup, a radar and computer chips so the car can "think" to deliver autonomous driving. The Japanese automaker called it IDS, which stands for "intelligent driving system." Nissan, based in Yokohama, Japan, said it will offer some autonomous driving features by the end of next year in Japan. By 2018, it said vehicles with the technology will be able to conduct lane changes on highways. By 2020, such vehicles will be able to make their way through intersections on regular urban roads. Nissan officials said they were working hard to make the car smart enough to recognize the difference between a red traffic light and a tail light, learn how to turn on intersections where white lane indicators might be missing and anticipate from body language when a pedestrian might cross a street. Nissan's IDS vehicle is also electric, with a new battery that's more powerful than the one currently in the automaker's Leaf electric vehicle. Although production and sales plans were still undecided, it can travel a longer distance on a single charge and recharge more quickly. A major challenge for cars that drive themselves is winning social acceptance. They would have to share the roads with normal cars with drivers as well as with pedestrians, animals and unexpected objects. That's why some automakers at the show are packing the technology into what looks more like a golf cart or scooter than a car, such as Honda Motor Co.'s cubicle-like Wander Stand and Wander Walker scooter. Instead of trying to venture on freeways and other public roads, these are designed for controlled environments, restricted to shuttling people to pre-determined destinations. At a special section of the show, visitors can try out some of the so-called "smart mobility" devices such as Honda's seat on a single-wheel as well as small electric vehicles.

Major Alexa deal will bring Amazon services into more cars

Amazon and its personal assistance service Alexa are partnering with HERE Technologies to create a new connected mobility service powerhouse. Alexa will integrate with HERE's navigation and location services to offer what the two companies are calling a "true voice-first-navigation experience." Alexa will come pre-integrated with HERE navigation on-demand, which the automakers can then enable, which should help cut down on development time. One of the biggest features from this partnership is how directions could be offered and delivered using HERE's Open Location Platform (OLP). Currently, the OLP uses data from several car manufacturers to provide insights into real-time location and traffic. But on Alexa, this could be used to provide directional context. For example, Alexa could say, "Turn right after [such-and-such a building]" rather than just, "Turn right." Amazon has been testing the automotive waters throughout the past decade. Its home-based Alexa-enabled devices are already offered with connections to several manufacturers. To various degrees of integration, it can already pair with Ford, Genesis, Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai and BMW vehicles. At the end of 2018, Amazon took things a step further when it introduced the Echo Auto, a Bluetooth-connected Alexa assistant device that can be physically kept in a car. Currently only available by invitation (its production and distribution have been delayed), the $25 device is essentially a voice service that works together with smartphones and connects to a car's speakers. Users can command it to do a variety of things, including playing music, setting navigation, opening the garage door, finding local stores, making calls, setting reminders, and thousands of other "skills." According to The Verge, nearly 1 million people have already ordered the device. Some (well, probably few) may know HERE Technologies from its maps on Windows Phones. We all know how that turned out, though. Today, HERE has expanded into a multi-function suite that is available in multiple mediums, including many automotive applications. HERE Automotive's connected vehicle services include real-time traffic, parking, weather, fuel prices, hazard warnings, traffic sign integration, and even EV charging stations. These all incorporate and extend the use of HERE's location and tracking programming. HERE is already partnered with BMW, Audi, Daimler, Intel, Mobileye, NVIDIA, and has investments from Bosch, Continental and Pioneer.