Hasta La Gadget!

This week at the 2013 New York International Auto Show we’ve had the opportunity to have a hands-on experience with the next-generation Buick Intellilink infotainment system. This system has been revealed as coming with the 2014 LaCrosse as well as the 2014 Regal, both vehicles working with nearly identical implementations of infotainment and media playback throughout. It all begins on an 8-inch touchscreen display that sits front and center of the vehicle, able to be accessed by the driver or the copilot with ease.

Buick’s next-generation IntelliLink infotainment system works with wireless connectivity for your mobile devices, customizable options galore, and an easy-to-use user interface from start to finish. And it’s all builds on a hearty connection of both safety and security with OnStar. If you’re an OnStar user, you’ll be able to access city-by-city weather reports and ultra-simple embedded navigation using their “traditional Blue button” – rather handy.

You’ll be working with connectivity to a selection of apps for music, starting with Pandora. With Pandora you’ll have a collection of custom-built radio stations with new music coming in by the day – you’ll also be working with a set of 60 “favorites”, starting with radio stations outside of Pandora. These stations can be AM, FM, or XM, and you’ll have plenty of space left over to store “favorites” in contacts, destinations, and music from media aside from radio.

You’ll be able to connect with your media and your apps for control of the many various things IntelliLink works with using your touchscreen or by controlling your system with your voice. IntelliLink employs natural language voice recognition allowing you to control most anything you’d be able to control with your finger. You can enter destinations, browse media, safely place calls, play music, and control a variety of other functions as well.

If you’re a fan of using your touchscreen interface, you’ll find the controls to be rather familiar. You can do what Buick calls a “fling” through your lists, swipe up and down, and drag all around – basic control cues you’ll have learned well by now due to your everyday use of your smartphone or tablet devices. You can also control your music, set destinations, and more with IntelliLink’s connection to your smartphone – this done with a USB cord or Bluetooth wirelessly.

Of course the audio experience you’re going to have with the output this IntelliLink system is controlling depends entirely on the vehicle you’re driving. With the 2014 Buick Regal you’ll be working with a new nine-speaker Bose sound system including “strategically placed” tweeters and a fabulous subwoofer – you’ve got an acoustically optimized interior as well. With the 2014 Buick LaCrosse you’ve got seven standard speakers including the, again, “strategically placed” tweeters as well as a subwoofer all coming together to complement a quiet, acoustically optimized interior – with optional 11-speaker Bose Centerpoint Surround Sound being available as well!

Have a peek at our Buick tag portal for more information on the IntelliLink system as it appears in more vehicles through the future, and don’t forget to check the rest of our Car Hub for auto action from here until forever!

Buick’s next-generation IntelliLink Infotainment system hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the 2014 Buick LaCrosse has been shown for the first time at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, complete with a suite of design and technology innovations you’ll do well to adore. This vehicle has been designed from start to finish to be a luxurious ride, starting with a new interior design that continues the success of this long-lasting sedan line and bringing with it a set of advanced safety and in-car connectivity technologies. There’s also a special Ultra Luxury Interior Package you’ll want to take a look at if you want to go above the fold.

With this full-size LaCrosse you’ll be working with Buick’s next-generation integration of IntelliLink, their infotainment system for entertainment and voice-activated control of your vehicle. You’ll have a newly upgraded, even more intuitive than in past iterations, user interface and control, complete with natural voice recognition – speak as you normally would! This vehicle also works with a collection of camera-based safety features including:

• Side Blind Zone Alert
• Lane Change Alert
• Lane Departure Warning
• Forward Collision Alert
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert
• Automatic Collision Preparation

These features each work with GM’s patented Safety Alert Seat – that’s a vibration from the seat from the direction of a potential crash threat. Quite helpful when you need more than a half-moment’s notice of impending doom.

This vehicle has been enhanced with some fabulous new design cues both inside and out, starting with new front and rear styling – signature wing-shaped LED daytime running lamps as well as LED wraparound tail lamps are in place to, as they say, “complement [the 2014 LaCrosse’] sculpted exterior design.” Inside you’ll find new seats, a redesigned central instrument panel and console, and enhanced materials used throughout.

The Ultra Luxury Interior Package is one you may be lusting after. Included is a sangria seating color, ebony accents, all work semi-aniline leather (both seats and trim), with Shadow Tamo Ash wood decor. This package’s semi-aniline leather covers the seats, console armrest, door armrests, and is complemented with a bit of synthetic suede in both the headliner and door pillars. This color and material combination is exclusive to the LaCrosse and this Ultra Luxury package.

The Buick 2014 LaCrosse is being offered in front-wheel-drive as well as all-wheel-drive models and will have two powertrain options available. The first is a 2.4L engine with eAssist light electrification technology. The second is a 3.6L engine with direct-injected V-6. Both models are paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, and both will have Adaptive Cruise Control available as well. With Adaptive Cruise Control, the system is able to sense traffic in front of the vehicle and adjust vehicle speed in real time, stopping the vehicle when traffic is especially heavy, and accelerating when traffic becomes light once again.

The details will continue here on SlashGear as we see more of the 2014 Buick LaCrosse at the New York International Auto Show 2013. We’ll be seeing more IntelliLink, more of the innards and surroundings of this and other Buick vehicles – and whatever else you’d like us to check out! Have a peek at our Car Hub for more information, and stick to the New York Auto Show 2013 tag portal as well!

Buick 2014 LaCrosse official with IntelliLink and Ultra Luxury options is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve been hearing a lot about Tesla Motors lately. The company was recently in the news for the fiasco with the New York Times over their Model S review. All of that dust has seemed to settle, though, and now the company has a big announcement planned for this Thursday. There are any number of guesses as to what they could announce, but what could it possibly be?

The announcement of the announcement comes straight from the horse’s mouth: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to say that he’s really excited for an “announcement coming on Thursday,” and that he’s “going to put [his] money where [his] mouth is in [a] major way.” Needless to say, we’re pretty curious as to what the company will announce.

Nothing major happened with Tesla recently that would suggest an announcement of any kind. It could have something to do with the company’s delayed Model X SUV, but we’re not positive on that. The company recently announced the delay of the Model X into late 2014 so that they could focus more on the Model S’s production during 2013.

There’s also that five-year loan that Tesla is planning to pay back to the US Department of Energy earlier than expected, but we can’t see any kind of major announcement coming out of that. Honestly, we think the announcement may just come out of thin air, and Musk and company may announce something that nobody saw coming. We’ll just have to wait and see come Thursday. Stay tuned.

Tesla Motors to make big announcement on Thursday is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Honda has recalled about 93,000 of its Acura TSX vehicles due to a problem with its ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that could set of a series off problems culminating in engine stalling. Depending on when the engine stalls, the driver could potentially be at risk for crashing, resulting in injury. The information comes from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report.

The process by which the engine may stall is a bit complicated. According to the NHTSA report, the vehicle’s driver could transfer a chemical found in de-icing products to the car’s carpet by walking on it. From there, the de-icing compound could then be transferred to the Electronic Control Unit where its case meets the carpet.

At this point, the chemical could then lead to corrosion, and the corrosion could cause a stall, with the engine stall potentially causing a crash. As a result, Honda elected to recall just under six figures worth of the Acura TSX model years 2004 through 2007. Of this number, approximately 76,000 are located in the United States, and the rest are located in Canada.

As you can imagine, however, those in some states aren’t likely to come in contact with a de-icing chemical, which is why the recall has been limited to certain states (all of which experience icy winters): Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Owners will be notified next month.

[via Torque News]

Honda recalls 93,000 Acura TSX sedans due to potential engine stalls is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Seoul Motor Show is coming up next week, and there will obviously be a handful of new cars to be unveiled on the show floor during the week, one of which will be Hyundai‘s HND-9 coupe concept. It’s said that the design of the concept will be meant as inspiration for Hyundai’s upcoming vehicles — possibly a next-generation Genesis.

Hyundai says that this design of the HND-9 is described as a “modern reinterpretation of the classic premium sports coupe,” and we’d have to agree with them. The concept has the classic Lambo-style doors, as well as the fastback-esque rear design, with the dual exhaust on the back, along with the mean-looking taillights.

The concept that will be making an appearance at the Seoul Motor Show will sport a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 GDI engine that spits out 365 BHP, and it’ll be accompanied by an eight-speed automatic transmission. Of course, this may not be the exact setup that will come to production vehicles in the future, but it could be template.

We’ve already seen a couple of Hyundai’s concepts over the last few months. The company showed off their HCD-14 sedan concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit back in January, as well as their Veloster C3 hatchback concept back in November, both of which look really sleek.

[via Autocar]

Hyundai to reveal HND-9 concept at Seoul Motor Show is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.