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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.

Next-generation BMW 5 Series spied in Touring trim

It almost seems as if BMW just started selling the current-generation 5 Series, yet one of our spy photographers has already spotted a next-generation prototype in Touring form. Little is known about the luxury wagon in this early stage of testing, but it is expected to weigh much less than the current car, which, in 528i Touring guise with an automatic transmission, tips the scale at over 3,800 pounds. It is also expected to have the latest in driver-assistance technology. Despite the weight savings, and judging from the photos, it looks to have proportions similar to the current car, but don't expect the makeshift headlight and taillight clusters to make it onto the production model.
The crucial question for potential Touring customers in the United States is whether BMW will do the unexpected and import it here. The company's track record indicates that it will be sold in Rest of World markets only, but we're hoping that the next 5 Series will end the Touring's U.S. hiatus (and the 5 Series Gran Turismo's reign), which began in 2003 at the end of the E39 generation.

BMW M4 sheds some camouflage for latest test run

Last time we saw the upcoming BMW M4 out testing, it was heavily clad with camouflage and decidedly homely looking (as most early development mules are). But in this latest set of photos, the M3 coupe successor has started to come into its own skin, and we're seeing a shape more closely akin to that of a rendering we brought you a few months back.
Unsurprisingly, the M4 coupe looks very similar to the 4 Series Concept that BMW debuted at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. And while non-M version of the 4er will likely look a bit more sedate, these spy shots clearly show an aggressive front fascia, large wheels and the usual quad-exhaust rounding out the rear end.
Naturally, the M3 sedan will launch before this M4 coupe (and convertible), and powertrain details are still unclear as of this writing. We understand that the current M3's naturally aspirated V8 will be axed in favor of some sort of turbocharged six-cylinder engine, and we've heard plenty of rumors as to what, exactly, it might be, but we have yet to hear any official confirmation.