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2015 will be the biggest year ever for cars at CES

Like the SEMA Show, major automakers are paying increasing attention to the CES, with 2015 expected to be one of the most auto focused yet. Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, Hyundai, Mazda, Audi, BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will all be in attendance when CES 2015 kicks off next week, taking up a record-breaking 165,000 square feet of space at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "We've come a long way from a single car on a carpet," Ford's Alan Hall told Bloomberg. Unlike SEMA, or a more traditional auto show, like the upcoming festivities in Detroit, CES doesn't necessarily focus on entire cars or the way they perform, but on the way our technology will interact with vehicles, and in how those vehicles will deliver information to drivers. "CES has become a major launch point for a lot of the big automakers," IHS tech analyst Mark Boyadjis told Bloomberg. "CES is a way for them to get on a global stage for technology." As for what kind of wares automakers will trot out in Las Vegas, we already know that BMW will show off an autonomous i3 electric car that can navigate its way through a multistory car park and can be hailed via a smartwatch app. According to Bloomberg, Hyundai will show off its own smartwatch app for the Genesis sedan, while Audi and Mercedes-Benz will show off autonomous vehicles next week. Automakers won't be the only companies looking to capitalize on CES. Tech firms, like chipmaker Nvidia, are becoming increasingly involved in the automotive game and will be in town showing their wares off to OEMs. "Two years ago, our booth would have been filled with PCs and people playing video games," Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director for automotive business, told Bloomberg. "This year we made a strategic decision to shift the focus of the booth on automotive and de-prioritize some of the other things." Needless to say, you can expect to see a lot of news out of Las Vegas come next week. Stay tuned. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Julie Jacobson / AP CES Audi BMW Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Mazda Toyota Volkswagen Technology CES 2015

Google's new Android Autos OS unveiled, will be in cars this year [w/video]

Connected cars are coming en-masse. We know this much. How, though, remains something of an open question, especially as two of the world's largest tech companies are preparing to battle for control of your car's dashboard. On the one hand, we have Apple and its CarPlay system. And now, we know what Google has been working on with Auto Link.
Its new name is Android Auto, and yes, it's based off the Android architecture that is the primary challenger to Apple's iOS mobile operating system. Announced at Google's I/O conference today, Android Auto functions similarly to CarPlay - owners will need to plug their smartphones into their cars to access the full breadth of capability.
In Android Auto's case, that means a wealth of voice controls to limit distracted driving. Google's marquee apps will be available when the interface arrives in production models later this year, including Google Play Music, Google Maps and voice-activated texting and text playback. Meanwhile, developers will be able to begin designing custom apps for the new system via an upcoming software development kit.

Rockstar Performance creates off-road Hyundai Tucson for SEMA

Hyundai is rapidly filling its space for this year's SEMA Show on November 3 in Las Vegas, NV, but the latest addition to the growing list of debuts takes a slightly different approach. Rather than going for all-out power like the rest, Rockstar Performance Garage is bringing a tuned 2016 Tucson that's custom modified to head off-road. To handle getting through mud and over rocks, Rockstar Performance gives the Tucson a major suspension upgrade. Some 2.5-inch, adjustable coilovers are fitted at the front, and the rear is equipped with 2.5-inch shocks with remote reservoirs and progressive springs. To get the power to the dirt, 32-inch Mickey Thompson tires are mounted on some 17-inch wheels. "The focus behind this build was to create an off-roader that nobody expected," says Nic Ashby, owner and general partner of Rockstar Performance Garage. The tuners give the Tucson a meaner look thanks to a black paint job that's trimmed with yellow and silver accents, and the roof features a custom rack with an LED light bar. Inside, the stereo gets an upgrade with improved speakers and a 10-inch subwoofer. The powerplant isn't left alone, either, and Rockstar Performance fits new parts for the turbo piping and intercooler, plus a Magnaflow exhaust, to get the most from the 1.6-liter engine. Rockstar Performance's work should be quite a contrast next to the lowered, blue, 700-horsepower Tucson from Bisimoto Engineering also coming to SEMA. Related Video: ROCKSTAR PERFORMANCE GARAGE TURNS 2016 TUCSON INTO A TRUE OFF-ROADER FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Oct. 12, 2015 – Rockstar Performance Garage (RPG), the off-road specialists, have revealed details on its 2016 Tucson SEMA build. This is the first year that Hyundai has teamed up with the off-road gurus at RPG, injecting off-road lifeblood into Hyundai's popular CUV. The car will be revealed at Hyundai's SEMA press conference on November 3 at 11:30 a.m. PT, in Las Vegas. The bumper-to-bumper overhaul started with the most important piece of any serious off-roader: the suspension. The Tucson now sits six inches over stock height, riding on massive, 32-in. MTZ P3 tires from Mickey Thompson, and a fully-custom, adjustable shocks and struts system from King Shocks. The vehicle's wheel wells were reconstructed to create space for the new setup, now able to fit the massive suspension and tire combination.