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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.

Audi claims World Endurance Championship at Fuji

It's been a successful racing season for Audi so far this year. After claiming the drivers' title in the DTM series, the German automaker has successfully defended both its titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The decision came after heavy rain ended the 6 Hours of Fuji after only 16 laps, virtually the entire race having been run behind the safety car. Although Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima won the race for Toyota - the Japanese automaker's first this season - the second-place finish achieved by Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval propelled Audi Sport Team Joest out of its challengers' reach.
While the actual drivers' title still remains in contention, the battle now comes down exclusively to the two leading Audi trios: McNish, Kristensen and Duval hold the lead with 147 points ahead of André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer, who hold 106.25 points in the standings. Either way, Audi will be awarded both the drivers' and manufacturers' titles in the series with two races still to go in Shanghai and Bahrain.

2013 Audi Allroad

Reincarnated With A Smaller And Less Passionate Soul
Mention the name "Allroad" to most automotive enthusiasts, and it's likely to conjure up images of the Audi A6 Allroad Quattro, first introduced in 1999. That car-like alternative to a sport utility vehicle was based on the German automaker's A6 Avant wagon. But unlike its luxurious road-going sibling, the Allroad was an on- and off-road variant fitted with an advanced height-adjustable air suspension for additional ground clearance, rugged tires on oversized wheels to improve off-pavement grip and unpainted flared fenders and bumpers to protect it from rugged use. That original A6 Allroad arrived with Audi's powerful twin-turbo 2.7-liter V6, more to offset its increased weight than to boost performance, and was eventually offered with a 4.2-liter V8 before it was discontinued in 2005.
Fast forward eight years, and Audi has introduced its replacement - now based on the smaller A4 Avant wagon.