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The 2024 Polestar 3 will be the first vehicle to have Google’s new HD map, the company today announced at CES 2023.Along with aiding the 3’s driver assists, Google’s HD map provides greater detail and more up-to-date info.Polestar 2 models can now be remotely controlled via devices with Google Assistant, allowing people to precondition the cabin and more.When the sleek-looking Polestar 3 arrives sometime near the end of 2023, not only will it be the brand’s first SUV, but it’ll be the first vehicle ever to have Google’s new HD map. Polestar today made the announcement at CES 2023 and provided several other details about fresh features.CES 2023: Read All About It!Teamwork Makes the Dream WorkGoogle and Polestar have been collaborating for a while now, and the tech company’s new HD map is the most recent result of that team-up. The 2024 Polestar will mark the debut of Google’s HD map, which will also be featured in the upcoming Volvo EX90, which is set to arrive in early 2024. Since Google’s Android Automotive operating system is also being adopted by other automakers—such as Ford and GM—we expect the map to eventually proliferate as well.The HD map is said to provide greater detail than traditional maps and be more precise, too. This contributes to what is arguably the most notable function. Working in conjunction with Polestar 3’s driver-assistance technology, the Google software can improve the EV’s Pilot Assist semi-autonomous drive mode through better recognition of lane markings, real-world objects, and road signs. The teamwork is also expected to play a big role in future autonomous driving.Talking to the Polestar 2The Polestar 2 was the first vehicle to feature Google’s operating system, called Android Automotive OS. While it has continued to feature an in-car voice assistant, the system now adds “remote actions” that allow people to control vehicle functions via devices with Google Assistant.Marc Urbano|Car and DriverMarc Urbano|Car and DriverSimply speaking to your Google Assistant now lets people remotely operate their Polestar 2 as well as check its status. For example, you can now precondition the car’s cabin, unlock the doors, check the battery’s state of charge, and more, all while you lay around on your couch.Polestar says this new functionality will initially only be offered in the U.S., but eventually, it will be available in other markets, too.Polestar Priority ReadingThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Volvo’s first purpose-built EV, the 2024 EX90 SUV, made its North American debut today as part of CES 2023. Scheduled to arrive in 2024, the EX90 will feature lidar, cameras, and radar to provide information for the newly announced Google’s HD map feature. The Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3 will be the first two vehicles available with this technology from Google. Over the last few years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has followed roughly the same trend as the automotive industry as a whole, blurring the lines between what can be deemed part of the car world, and what lives solely in technology. For 2023, Volvo brought its first purpose-built EV, the 2024 EX90 SUV, to CES for its North American debut. But CES is about technology, not cars. So Volvo is mainly showing off its newest Google mapping software.Google’s HD map was designed specifically for automakers to integrate into their vehicles. In the EX90, it utilizes the SUV’s lidar, camera, and radar systems along with lane-level and local data from Google. Lane markers and objects like signs, or other vehicles are combined with the data from the EX90’s sensors before the software gets processed through the vehicle’s native computers, and is powered through NVIDIA DRIVE AI Platforms Xavier and Orin. More On the EX90 and LidarVolvoWe haven’t yet used the technology in the real world, but we can tell that the HD map looks and seems to function similarly to the display we’ve experienced in Teslas. The radar and camera systems of the car take in images and provide the driver with real-time information on their surroundings. The Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3 will be the first two cars to get the technology, before moving to other Volvo vehicles and partnering brands. Volvo is also rolling out over-the-air updates (OTA), which will increase the number of functions Google-enabled Volvos can utilize. The new update adds connectivity between personal Google devices such as Google Home products and your car. Owners will now be able to use their devices for things like checking fuel levels, battery levels, charging status, or asking their car to heat up on cold mornings. VolvoIn addition to the new Google features, Volvo is introducing or updating various other tech features. Access to Volvo’s Care Key function is expanding, and details about over-the-air updates will now be available on the Volvo Cars app, among other infotainment tweaks. This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

At the CES electronics show in Las Vegas this week, auto supplier ZF is showing a Heat Belt—basically a heated driver’s-side front seatbelt.What’s the point? It lets EV owners keep their cabin heat turned down, potentially improving range during cold weather.As far as future vehicles that might have this innovation, ZF said no automaker has signed on yet.Low temperatures and electric vehicles don’t play well together. The cold takes a toll on range, in part because electrons move slower when it’s chilly but mostly because heating up the cabin costs extra energy in an EV. ZF’s Heat Belt, announced at the 2023 CES (formerl known as the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, is the automotive equivalent of a heated blanket, warming you directly so you can keep the thermostat a few degrees lower and save precious miles on your winter drive.More from CES 2023Woven into the Heat Belt are conductive wires that warm up to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit when activated. ZF says the wires add minimal thickness to the belt and that it works with existing seatbelt hardware. When combined with a heated seat and steering wheel, it could improve the cold-weather range of an EV by up to 15%. Which, on the one hand makes you wonder how much of that comes from just the heated belt. On the other hand, why not heat the front of your body along with your paws and backside? Forget range anxiety, some of us just like being cozy. And on that note, ZF points out that the Heat Belt encourages people to remove bulky winter coats, which helps the seatbelt fit better, enhancing safety in a crash.This Heat Belt won’t be appreciably thicker than a normal seatbelt, says ZF.ZFWe’ve Seen This BeforeMercedes-Benz previewed this idea back in 2019 but never brought it to a production car, leaving the warmed armrest first seen on the S-class cabriolet in 2007 as the last major innovation in heated cabin surfaces. While the cost is similar to adding heating elements to a steering wheel, ZF says it doesn’t have an automaker as a partner for the Heat Belt yet, so we can’t say when you should expect this as an option. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

The BMW i Vision Dee is a color-changing concept car revealed today as part of CES 2023.Inside, the i Vision Dee’s entire windshield can act as a screen, offering different levels of augmented reality.While most of the car is conceptual, BMW said some features will start arriving in 2025.The BMW i Vision Dee concept debuting at CES 2023 bears little resemblance to anything in the automaker’s current lineup. That’s by design, as the small sedan’s simplistic styling aims not to distract from the myriad digital and virtual elements that make it so innovative. From body panels that change colors to an interior where the entire windshield acts as a display, the i Vision Dee concept previews the road ahead for BMW’s future technology offerings.CES 2023: Read All About It!A Chameleon-Like Concept Car The i Vision Dee isn’t the first BMW that can change colors. At CES last year, the company revealed the iX Flow, which was wrapped in a material used by e-readers. It’s called E Ink. Unlike the iX Flow, though, the i Vision Dee can shift beyond shades of gray. In fact, BMW says the chameleon-like sedan offers up to 32 different colors with essentially endless possibilities for different patterns, each of which can be controlled on the car’s 240 individual E Ink panels.If the i Vision Dee’s color-changing abilities weren’t interesting enough, the car can also make faces on its digital interpretation of BMW’s kidney grill. This lets it make expressions of astonishment, visual approval, and more. It reminds us of characters from the Pixar franchise Cars, but we’ll leave it for others to decide whether it’s cute like Lightning McQueen or creepy like Mater. Along with a new take on its trademark grille shape, the concept incorporates a version of the Hofmeister kink, albeit with a digital twist. While the i Vision Dee’s appearance is otherwise pretty plain when it’s not wearing a crazy color, BMW says the sedan was inspired by the 2002 model that was so iconic, and we can see hints of it in the sedan’s proportions.When people approach the concept, it’s designed to display an image of the driver’s avatar on the side window. That sounds silly to us, but it’s part of a greater plan to make the car more personalizable. The doors will even automatically open and greet you when the car senses that the driver is approaching.See Inside DeeDee stands for Digital Emotional Experience, which BMW says is its new philosophy for the development of future models. It’s about forming a closer connection between people and machines. With Dee—as BMW likes to call its concept—this is accomplished through visual elements and verbal communication such as voice commands.The i Vision Dee’s interior is virtually void of physical switchgear, which is meant to put an emphasis on using voice commands and keeping your eyes on the road. Sure, there’s a steering wheel with vertical spokes and dual touchpads, but BMW focuses most of the attention on the windshield, which acts as an enormous digital display. All the information that would normally be shown on a traditional gauge cluster or center touchscreen is now projected onto the entire width of the front glass. Essentially, the i Vision Dee’s windshield is a huge head-up display. However, there’s more to it than that. The amount and type of content that appears can be chosen by the driver through touch-sensitive controls on the dashboard. BMW calls it the Mixed Reality Slider. It includes five different levels that include analog, driving information, and more.BMWBMWThe more immersive levels venture into augmented reality, with the top setting dimming all the windows and transforming the interior into a fully digital environment. Think of it like virtual reality, but without the clunky headset. Coming to Cars in 2025While it’s obviously important to remember that the i Vision Dee is merely a concept car, BMW says some features will become available on production models as early as 2025. For example, that’s when customers can expect to see the first production version of a head-up display that runs the entire width of the windshield (just don’t expect anything near the concept’s full virtual mode). That’s going to be cool, but we’re still more excited for the day when we can create our own custom liveries on a brand-new Bimmer.Other Cool BMW ConceptsThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between the two Japanese companies, has revealed a prototype of a handsome new electric sedan that it plans to sell in the U.S. as soon as 2026.It will be part of a new brand called Afeela, but we don’t yet know what name the production version of this prototype will use.Afeela will start taking orders in 2025, and says that deliveries will start in North America in 2026.Sony has entered the EV chat. After a number of interesting electric-vehicle prototypes over the past few years, the consumer electronics giant made its EV ambitions clear with the announcement of a new EV brand called Afeela at CES in Las Vegas.SonySonyTechnically, the new EV concept comes from Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between the two Japanese companies. Together, they revealed the prototype of a handsome new electric sedan that they plan to sell in the U.S. as soon as 2026. It will be part of a new brand called Afeela, but we don’t yet know what name the production version of this prototype will use. Afeela will start taking orders in 2025, and says that deliveries will start in North America in the spring of 2026.SonyAs you would expect from an EV presented by the electronics giant, the prototype EV has a whopping 45 cameras and sensors placed inside and outside the vehicle. Paired with the 800 TOPS of maximum computing power for ECU, the Afeela concept is more than just a new way to think of EVs. The EV embraces entire suites of next-generation software, from Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Digital Chassis for ADAS and telematics solutions to a collaboration with Epic Games on the entertainment side of things.The concept itself is a relatively standard-issue EV design with a low profile and aerodynamic wheels. Claiming that the EV concept is here to “create a new value standard for mobility,” Sony and Honda don’t want you to think about the car in traditional terms like power and performance. Instead, the highlights here should be on “software, networks, and user experiences.” In other words, areas where Sony has some experience.SonyDigital features in the concept can be changed via over-the-air updates, but Afeela’s initial statements include the expected claims about autonomous driving and other connectivity features. Level 3 automated driving will be offered “under limited conditions” with Level 2 driver assistance available in more situations, including urban driving.More on Sony CarsSonySony also plans to open up the EV to partnerships with customers and “our automotive industry partners,” Sony said, with Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Digital Chassis system-on-a-chip providing the technological support for this ability. Back on planet Earth, we can see that the Afeela concept’s exterior uses a “Media Bar” to communicate with nearby humans and the simple interior was designed to “[wrap] occupants in a soft cocoon.”This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More