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2014 Toyota Corolla details leaked

Toyota will launch the 2014 Corolla later this year, and thanks to the ever-leaky internet, a couple of key details about the new sedan have been revealed. Car and Driver was able to uncover these bits of information thanks to someone at a Toyota dealer in Kansas who has seen the car, as well as its order guide, though the dealer's site has since removed its original posting.
We got our first glimpse at the next-generation Corolla's design at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, where Toyota unveiled the Furia concept, pictured above. Yes, it looks all sporty and aggressive, but fear not, appliance shoppers, C/D says that the production car should have a couple of Furia bits mixed in with a huge helping of Camry-inspired styling.
The 2014 Corolla will reportedly continue to use a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, though the mill has been massaged a bit, adding Toyota's Valvematic continuously variable valve timing. A four-speed automatic (yep!) will be offered in the base model, though the manual transmission now has six gears, and higher trim levels can be had with a CVT. Both engine output and fuel economy numbers should improve slightly over the 2013 model. Currently, the Corolla produces 132 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque, and achieves 27/34 miles per gallon (city/highway) with the five-speed manual 'box.

Toyota recounts past Supra glories

It could just be a slow start to the news week around the Toyota offices, but its UK blog has posted a brief history on its legendary Supra sports car. Read into however you'd like, but there has been plenty of speculation as to the return of the Supra nameplate in recent years (including last month from incoming Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada).
Built from April 1978 through July 2002, Toyota's sports coupe made quite a name for itself as both the Celica Supra (shown above) and the Supra, and the blog post charts many of the changes and highlights through the years. Head on over to the Toyota UK blog to read more about this Supra's history, and then be sure to check out the gallery of images from Toyota spanning all four generations.

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.