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Automotive Grade Linux will be the backbone of your connected car

Creating a backend for a secure, reliable, and expandable infotainment system is costly and time consuming. The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization, has set out to promote and advance the Linux operating system in commercial products. Automotive Grade Linux, or AGL, is a group within the Foundation that seeks to apply a Linux backend to a number of automotive applications in a variety of vehicles from various suppliers and manufacturers. AGL's goal is to create a common, unifying framework that allows developers and manufacturers to easily implement applications across platforms. Currently, the focus is on infotainment systems, but AGL has plans for instrument clusters, heads-up displays, and eventually active safety software. At CES, a display from Panasonic showed a completely digital and customizable dashboard that allows information and apps to be moved from the gauge cluster to the infotainment screen and back, all through the use of gesture and touch controls. Although the organization has been around for five years, it's really only been in the past three that the group has been working hand in hand with automakers and suppliers. The first two OEMs to participate, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover, have since been joined by Mazda, Suzuki, Ford, and, as of this week, Daimler. The latter is important as until now most of AGL's partner's have been based in Japan or the US. Other partners include suppliers Denso, Renesas, Continental, Qualcomm, and Intel. AGL want's to supply roughly 80 percent of the backend, allowing partners to then finish and refine the Linux system for each individual application. Think of how the Android operating system is refined and customized for individual smartphones from Samsung, LG, and Motorola. While the final product looks different, developers can have an application that will work across all AGL systems. Because it is open source, anyone can use and develop for AGL. You can even go onto the group's website and download a copy right now. There is also a software development kit available that helps facilitate app creation on the platform. Vehicle development cycles take roughly five years, so there currently are no cars that run an AGL backbone available for consumers. AGL Executive Director Dan Cauchy says products should be hitting the market later this year, with even more coming in 2018. Right now, the industry is relatively fragmented when it comes to infotainment and related systems.

The Suzuki Jimny is even more awesome with these retro graphics

We already were pretty smitten by the Suzuki Jimny, the pint-sized 4x4 that, sadly, U.S. buyers can only look on from afar. It manages to remind us of its ancestors, the Suzuki Samari and Sidekick (small and basic 4x4s for which collectors and off-roaders are rapidly developing a keen appreciation). At the same time, it also rocks its own modern, mini-G-Wagen vibe. Now Suzuki has rolled out a batch of available decal packages for the Jimny, and we're digging it all the more. As surfaced by Motor1, Suzuki's catalog of accessories for the Jimny includes graphics packages in several different themes. The Offroad style includes tri-color red/gray/black stripes for the top and sides of the hood and under the rear side windows. The wide, lower-body REAL OFFROAD graphic is in red and black, while the finishing touch is a rhino decal for just above the Jimny badge on the tailgate. The Survival style appears to be some kind of camo pattern in black that is applied in a wide band along the upper bodysides. Heritage style ups the retro factor. It features red and gray upper body stripes on a white Jimny. Full the full look, you'll want the hard-shell exterior spare-wheel cover with matching graphics and the red mud flaps. The piece-de-resistance is the Revival style, which embraces the rad Eighties with a white/pink/black zig-zag squiggle on the doors and rear fenders that could have been lifted straight from a Samari. The matching hard-shell spare-wheel cover is a must. All of these prove yet again that the boxy, basic Jimny makes an ideal canvas for customization, and there are plenty more accessory items in that catalog. But we're not going to torture ourselves any further. Featured Gallery Suzuki Jimny decals and accessories Design/Style Suzuki SUV Off-Road Vehicles

Suzuki tunes up tiny concepts for Tokyo Auto Salon

When counting Japanese automakers, don't forget Suzuki, which has a trio of new show cars lined up for the Tokyo Auto Salon in a couple of weeks. First up is the Water Activity concept. It's based on the Ignis and done up in a matte-finish army green with orange accents, a canoe strapped to the roof, metallic underbody trim, and bigger wheels. It's not unlike the Ignis Trail concept that Suzuki revealed at the main Tokyo Motor Show a few months ago, but taken in more of an outdoorsy direction than a sporty one. Joining it is the Hustler Rough Road Style, based on the oddball square wagon we first saw in concept form back in 2013 but ruggedized for the rocky trail. To that end it features a jacked-up suspension, knobby little tires, caged-in headlights, and a yellow paint job that makes it look as though it wandered through a paintball arena. It even has its name spelled out on the nose like you'd expect to see on a Hummer or Land Rover, and blacked-out trim on everything from the roof to the door handles. Last but not least is the Alto Works GP, which takes the punchy little hot hatch we reported on just the other day in an even racier direction. It features a blue and acid green livery borrowed from Suzuki's MotoGP bike, complemented by a custom carbon-fiber hood. It'll be displayed at the Japanese tuner expo alongside its two-wheeled counterpart, not to mention a smattering of other vehicles from the company's lineup when the show opens on January 15. Related Video: