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Google poised to release Apple CarPlay rival this month

Apple and Google. They're the Michigan and Ohio State of the tech world. They're New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Real Madrid and Barcelona, or whatever sports-based rivalry you want to cook up. Bottom line, if one company expands into a segment, it's only a matter of time before the other follows suit. And now, that rivalry is about to carry over to your car's dashboard.
Unnamed sources are reporting to Automotive News that Google will unveil its very own challenger to Apple's new CarPlay in-car operating system later this month at the Mountain View, CA company's annual developer conference. The system, allegedly called Google Auto Link, will be the first product to come from the Open Automotive Alliance, a partnership between Google, General Motors, Hyundai, Audi, Honda and hardware manufacturer NVIDIA.
The official announcement is expected to be made on either June 25 or 26, at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Expect to hear a lot more about Google Auto Link then.

Honda aiming for new mpg-record on European hypermile drive

Here's a warning that there will be a Honda Civic clogging up the right lane of a bunch of highways throughout Europe next month. Honda wants to set the Guinness World Record for best fuel economy for a car going through the European Union's 24 contiguous countries. To do so, we can't expect any high speeds on the autobahn. Two of Honda's finest from its UK factory will hit the road June 1 for a 25-day journey in a Honda Civic Tourer that will take the pair through two-dozen countries in 25 days. That means about 370 miles of very measured driving per day. The Civic Tourer will be equipped with a tracking device and other telematic services, and the goal is to see what kind of fuel economy the pair can get from the car's 1.6-liter i-DTEC engine. Honda isn't saying what kind of fuel-sipping figure it's looking to achieve over those three-plus weeks, which will take the car through countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and Spain, but the Japanese automaker is shooting for a fuel economy record irrespective of any type of powertrain, hybrids included. Take a look at Honda's press release below, and if you want to avoid or find the car en route, you can watch it on this tracker site. Honda targets new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for fuel efficiency with 8,500mile drive across Europe Honda will put the real-world fuel economy of its super-efficient 1.6 i-DTEC engine to the ultimate test in an 8,500mile drive across all 24 contiguous EU countries, with the aim of setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for fuel efficiency. On Monday 1st June 2015, two members of Honda's European Research & Development (R&D) team will climb into a Honda Civic Tourer and set out on an epic journey from Aalst, Belgium. Heading towards the Netherlands and Germany, their trip will see them navigate the Continent in a clockwise direction, with the aim of returning to their starting point some 25 days later, on June 25th, having covered a planned total of 8,459miles. The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title attempt comes on the back of several independent tests which have proven Honda's 1.6 i-DTEC engine to consistently out-perform its quoted fuel efficiency in real-world driving conditions. Keen to once again underline this performance and in the challenging spirit for which the brand is famed, Honda aims to set a benchmark with a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title never before attempted in Europe.

Formula 1 seeking independent engine supplier

Formula 1 could get a new engine supplier in the near future, if Bernie Ecclestone and the independent teams gets their way. According to Autosport, the FIA is soon to open the contract up for bids, and there are already several manufacturers that have expressed interest. Currently Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda supply engines – both to their own premier teams (Red Bull and McLaren for the latter two) but also to other teams like Williams, Sauber, and Toro Rosso. Because the new turbocharged V6 hybrid power units cost those four suppliers so much to develop, they're charging their customer teams big bucks – around $20-30 million per season – to provide the engines. These costs are much higher than the $10 million or so it used to cost to purchase a V8 engine under the previous regulations. Ecclestone figures it's time to bring in another supplier who will not run their own team and not play favorites, but will supply engines to private teams at a lower cost. There are already a number of potential suppliers under consideration. One of them is said to be Cosworth, which has a long history in the series stretching back to 1963. The British firm stepped back between 2007 and 2009, returned in 2010, and dropped out again after 2013. The development could be of particular benefit to Red Bull, which has been unable to find an engine supplier and could be forced out of the series as a result. The team has long been powered by Renault, but that relationship has grown sour. And the other three engine manufacturers have not been forthcoming in offering an alternative arrangement for the team. Related Video: News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Cosworth Motorsports Ferrari Honda Infiniti McLaren Mercedes-Benz Renault F1 engine contract