BELLS AND WHISTLES
New car tech includes smartphone keys and Alexa-style assistants
THERE are more options than ever before on today’s new vehicles. Thanks to recent advancements in wireless technology, electronic safety systems and artificial intelligence, the current crop of cars, trucks, and SUVs promise to be the smartest yet.
Voice-activated assistants
Those with Amazon Alexa or Google Home know how convenient (and even addictive) a digital assistant can be. And while most automakers have offered some sort of voicerecognition system in their vehicles for quite some time, nearly all of them are clunky, inaccurate, and downright frustrating. But thanks to artificial intelligence and cloud computing, the days of memorizing canned voice commands will soon be over.
Right now, MercedesBenz and BMW both offer voice-activated digital assistants on select models that respond to natural, conversational language.
The Mercedes system, known as MBUX (currently available on the new AClass and GLE-Class), is especially adept at understanding and executing commands. Hungry? Just say, “Hey Mercedes, I want a taco” and the car will bring up a list of nearby Mexican restaurants. Tired from a long drive? Say, “Hey Mercedes, I want a massage,” and your seat back will activate a spa-worthy shiatsu. The system even has a sense of humor; ask it to tell you a joke, and it will say, “I’m sorry, I was made by German engineers.”
BMW’s system (pictured left), dubbed Intelligent Personal Assistant (available on the 2019 3 Series, X5, Z4, and 8 Series), isn’t as sophisticated or entertaining, but it can control many basic functions such as the climate and navigation. Both systems send requests to the cloud to be processed, then beam the data back down to the car. Be aware, though, that as with digital home assistants, these in-car helpers are always listening.