BMW’s latest electric crossover SUV is about to put the rest of the segment to shame.
We’ve been waiting for BMW’s next-gen voice assistant for a while now. The custom Alexa voice assistant for was initially announced in 2022, but progress has been slow in an attempt to build it around Amazon’s more capable LLM-powered Alexa Plus. Now BMW and Amazon say that customers will be able to experience it “soon.” How soon? We don’t know! Which models? Unclear!
IIHS moderate overlap crash test results for seven EVs show good ratings for the i4, Blazer EV, post-April 2025 Cybertruck, and ID.Buzz, and acceptable for Tesla’s Model 3. (No word on the door handles.)
The F-150 Lightning (poor) and Ariya (marginal) results showed risks of injuries to backseat passengers.
BMW’s fist EV to be built on its new platform will feature lightning-fast charging and four superpowered ‘brains.’
The German brand’s new plug-in hybrid may lack personality, but it makes up for it in styling.
The electric crossover (based on last year’s concept) will be the first built on BMW’s Neue Klasse EV platform, which introduces an 800-volt architecture and new “Gen6” battery packs featuring higher density cylindrical cells for up to 30 percent better range. The iX3 will kick off new technologies that will be introduced in more than 40 models of various drivetrains by 2027. BMW Group also announced its first hydrogen car slated for 2028 at its annual press conference.
The battery pack that will underpin the Neue Klasse gets new tech, a new layout, and more range.
The all-in-one ECU was designed in-house in the hopes of making BMW’s new EV stand above the crowd.
The custom Alexa voice assistant for BMW vehicles was initially announced in 2022, but progress has been slow in an attempt to build it around Amazon’s more capable LLM-powered Alexa.
Amazon says its “LLM-powered capabilities” will start rolling out to select BMW models this year that allow users to “plan trips and navigate more conversationally.”
[www.aboutamazon.com]
iDrive uses 3D graphics and augmented reality to keep your eyes on the road.
BMW’s i5 electric sedan Super Bowl commercial makes good use of Walken, who forever seems like a good sport.
It’s hard to know how close this ad is to showing what it’s like moving through the world while being Walken, but the constant barrage of impressions from random people feels right.
The Vision Neue Klasse concept is a preview of what’s coming for new BMWs, both outside and in. A new Panoramic Vision display extends across the entire width of the windscreen allowing both the driver and front passenger to interact with it, and drivers can move content from the Central Display to the Panoramic Vision with a gesture. “This innovation will complement the enhanced BMW Head-Up Display in the production models of the Neue Klasse,” says BMW.
The once-meaningful TiVo brand (now owned by Xperi) wasn’t saved by launching its Android TV dongle, but it isn’t gone yet.
Dave Zatz points out that despite a delay in its plans for TiVo OS smart TVs, the company announced last week it scored a placement with BMW for in-car access to streaming and linear video content.
BMW’s implementation of the Powered by TiVo™ platform will include a variety of country-specific content, offering news, movies and access to media libraries. The video media platform is expected to roll out over-the-air in initial launch countries by the end of 2023 for customers of the all-new BMW 5 series and further models.
The new 5 Series sedans are first up, including the new all-electric version with almost 300 miles of range.
Want a glimpse of the future of luxury cars? The BMW i7 is where it’s at. And the 31-inch, 8K drop-down movie screen for rear passengers is just the icing on the cake.
Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S23 Ultra BMW M Edition in South Korea (seen via SamMobile), a limited edition of the device inspired by the BMW M3 E30. Finally, a phone for people allergic to turn signals.
I’m sure the design has some appeal for BMW drivers, but it’s overshadowed by its incredible packaging.
