Volvo says it will be the first automaker to offer direct integration with Google Home in its cars. You'll be able to control certain functions remotely via Google Assistant. You might tell your phone to lock the doors or ask a smart speaker to start warming up your car as you're getting ready to leave home.

Two-factor authentication is needed for "more sensitive commands," like unlocking the doors. You can also learn info related to your car through Google Assistant.

More features will be added later, such as the option to schedule charging. Volvo will roll out Google Home integration in the coming months. To use it, you'll need an Android-powered infotainment system that's connected to the Volvo Cars app and a Google Assistant-enabled device.

It's not the first time we've seen integration with connected home platforms in cars. GM and BMW owners can control smart home devices from vehicles with built-in Alexa, while Samsung and Google brought a SmartThings dashboard to some models with Android Auto. Still, Google Home is one of the more prominent connected home platforms around. If you have a smart speaker with Google Assistant enabled, these features might come in useful.

In addition, YouTube will be the first video streaming service on Volvo's infotainment system. You'll be able to download the app from the Play Store. The automaker offers unlimited data in certain markets, so you might be able to watch as many videos as you like without worrying about busting your data allowance.

For safety reasons, you'll only be able to watch YouTube videos on the screen when the car's stationary. That will ensure Volvo avoids the kind of controversy Tesla was embroiled in recently, when it emerged that games were playable on the infotainment system while a car was moving. The company said it would disable that option after the NHTSA said it was looking into the matter.

Other apps that Volvo owners will soon be able to download to their infotainment system include navigation apps Sygic and Flitsmeister; charging apps ChargePoint and Plugshare; and parking services SpotHero and ParkWhiz.

Earlier this week, Volvo announced it will use Qualcomm's car chipsets to power the infotainment systems in Polestar 3 and its upcoming electric EV. The automaker claims Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms will make the systems more responsive and more than twice as fast.

You won't need a Jeep to try Fire TV in your car. Amazon has revealed Fire TV is coming to more vehicles this year, including 2022 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. More of Stellantis' cars will also have the feature, too, including the Chrysler Pacifica and Jeep Grand Cherokee. The company didn't provide timelines for when the interface would be available.

Fire TV in cars is, effectively, a small-scale version of what you might be used to at home: passengers can watch videos, run apps and use Alexa, just with an interface optimized for seatback screens. You can save some content for offline access if you're driving through areas where internet access is spotty. The version currently in the Jeep Wagoneer includes a remote that also controls some car functions, but it's not clear if that will carry over to Ford vehicles.

Amazon clearly sees in-car Fire TV as a way to keep users in its ecosystem when they're away from home. However, it should still be helpful for entertaining kids on long trips, or simply for catching up on shows while you're in the passenger seat.

  — EMBARGO: 12:01 A.M. EST, JANUARY 5, 2022

Electrified pickups and SUVs may be all the rage but there's apparently still plenty of room in the EV market for more battery-powered autos and crossovers. At CES 2022 on Wednesday, Chrysler revealed its first fully electric vehicle concept, the Airflow.

“The Chrysler Airflow Concept represents the future direction of the Chrysler brand, providing a peek at the dynamic design, advanced technologies and seamless connectivity that will characterize the full-electric portfolio we plan to reach by 2028,” Chris Feuell, Chrysler CEO, said in a press statement.

Stellantis

Being a concept vehicle, the Airflow has most every bell and whistle Chrysler could include such as an in-vehicle camera for in-vehicle video conference calls as well as the company's new E/E (electrical/electronic) and software platforms, STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit, and STLA AutoDrive. STLA Brain serves as the vehicle's central controller, allowing it to receive OTA updates. SmartCockpit, on the other hand, runs the Airflow's infotainment system, providing navigation and voice control, as well as an on-board app store, for both the driver and passengers. Autodrive will reportedly offer Level 3 self-driving features with the capability for further feature improvements via the those OTA updates.  

The Airflow concept is equipped with dual 150kW motors, giving the crossover AWD capabilities and a Chrysler-estimated 350 - 400 mile range. Exterior design details include full-width LED tail lights and 22-inch rims, while the leather-bound interior boasts individual climate control options, separate dash-mounted touchscreens for the driver and front passenger (as well as seat-back mounted screens for both rear passengers), and ambient lighting that shifts based on the passengers’ preferences and what's playing on the the central displays.

Stellantis

Being but a concept vehicle, the Airflow that arrives in 2025 could — and likely will — look and perform a bit differently from what was announced today. Looking at you, promises of level 3 autonomy.

Hot on the (w)heels of our October test drive with BMW's iX, the luxury automaker has unveiled a more powerful — but equally-electrified — performance edition of the EV flagship at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, the new 2023 iX M60. Building on more than 50 years of design development with the automaker's prestigious M line, the iX M60 (along with the upcoming i4 M50) mark BMW's first forays into high-performance electric vehicles.

BMW

In addition to sporting 610 horsepower, the all-wheel drive iX M60 will offer 811 ft-lbs of torque, which translates into a 3.6 second 0-60 (not bad for a vehicle weighing 6,900 pounds), a top speed of 155 mph, and an estimated 280 mile range using the standard 21-inch wheels. It's dual synchronous motors are current-energized, meaning that their rotational speed is based on the amount of electrical energy applied — rather than relying on permanent magnets to generate the magnetic field turns the wheels. According to BMW, this improves both the vehicle's overall power density and its peak power output while eliminating the need for rare earth elements in the motors' construction. 

Its battery pack has a usable capacity of 106 kWh (111.5 kWh total). A full charge (0-100 percent capacity) on an 11W AC plug will take around 10.5 hours to complete (or a whopping 33 hours at 3.7 kW). Charging up to 80 percent on a DC fast charger will take 97 minutes at 50 kW, 40 minutes at 120 kW or just 35 minutes if you're lucky enough to find a charging station outfitted with it a 250kW port (note that the M60's 369V architecture limits its DC charging rate to 195 kW even if you do get lucky with an ultrafast station).   

BMW

Outwardly, the M60 is quite similar to the iX. It measures 195 x 77 x 65 inches and incorporates an aluminum space frame and carbon cage with carbon fiber reinforced plastic in the roof, side and rear. But if you look closer, you'll notice M60-exclusive blue brake calipers and optional 22-inch rims. Of the eight available exterior colors, Titanium Bronze is only available on the M60, as are the optional Titanium Bronze wheels. 

BMW

On the interior, M60 drivers will have their pick of five seat color options (either using SensaTec material or perforated leather) as well as the regular set of features, gadgets and ADAS systems we've come to expect on luxury vehicles. That includes a Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system, a panoramic "Sky Lounge" LED roof, adaptive LED headlights and myriad driver and traffic monitoring sensors, and something called BMW Natural Interaction, which allows you to control the infotainment system with verbal commands and hand gestures. 

Pricing for the M60 will start at $106,095 when the orders begin this June. BMW's keynote is scheduled for 11am PT on Wednesday, January 5th so stay tuned for more breaking news about the iX M60 and the rest of BMW's CES lineup. 

Qualcomm believes it can widen the field for semi-autonomous driving features, and it's launching a new platform to make that happen. The company has unveiled a Snapdragon Ride Vision platform that combines a 4-nanometer system-on-chip with Arriver's computer vision software to give automakers an "open, scalable and modular" way to build Level 2 driver assists and Level 3 partial autonomy into their cars.

Snapdragon Ride Vision can help cars detect road geometry, pedestrians and other cars using 8MP wide-angle cameras. It can also handle driver monitoring (to keep your hands or eyes focused on driving) and perception for near-field parking cameras. More importantly, the system is flexible — car designers can customize it to fit new vehicles and update features over the air.

The platform won't be ready for vehicle production until 2024. That's a long time to wait, particularly when Intel's Mobileye and NVIDIA are teasing chips capable of full self-driving. Still, Qualcomm might have an edge simply by making automated driving features more accessible. Snapdragon Ride Vision works with "virtually all" car price ranges and categories, Qualcomm said — this could be key to semi-autonomy in cars where the tech was previously impractical.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

Self-driving car technology is currently limited to test programs and specialized vehicles, but Mobileye thinks it can play a key role in making driverless vehicles you can actually buy. The Intel-owned company has unveiled an EyeQ Ultra system-on-chip designed with consumer self-driving cars in mind. The SoC can juggle all the computing needs of Level 4 autonomy (full self-driving in most conditions), but it's reportedly the world's "leanest" such chip — car brands won't need to use more complex, power-hungry parts that could hike costs or hurt battery life.

The EyeQ Ultra is built on a more efficient 5-nanometer process, but the architecture is the key. Mobileye's design revolves around four task-specific accelerators tied to extra CPU cores, graphics cores and image processors. The result can process input from cameras, LiDAR, radar and the car's central computing system while handling 'just' 176 trillion operations per second. For context, NVIDIA's Drive Atlan is expected to manage 1,000 trillion operations.

Mobileye, an Intel company

You'll have to wait a while to see the chip in action. Mobileye doesn't expect the first working EyeQ Ultra chips until late 2023, and you won't see full production until 2025. That's roughly in sync with numerous automakers' self-driving vehicle plans, however, and could help the company fight NVIDIA's offering. It's not clear that you'll get to 'drive' a Level 4 car in three years, but that's no longer as far-fetched a concept as it once seemed.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

Ford is making new efforts to double production capacity of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup to 150,000 vehicles per year, the company announced. That follows news from December that it capped pre-orders at 200,000 units, with CEO Jim Farley saying "we are completely oversubscribed with our battery electric vehicles." In addition, the company will start inviting the first group of reservation holders to place orders for the F-150 Lightning starting on Thursday, January 6th. 

To boost production, Ford said it created a small task force of employees from "manufacturing, purchasing, strategy, product development, and capacity planning" to find ways to accelerate production. It's also working with key suppliers "to find ways to increase capacity of electric vehicle parts, including battery cells, battery trays and electric drive systems," the company said in a press release.

The company noted that the F-150 Lightning is now in the the final pre-build phase before moving into mass production for retail and commercial customers, with deliveries starting this spring. The aim is to test production vehicles over a million miles or so in real-world customer conditions. 

Ford

On the order side, Ford said it's using a wave-by-wave reservation process, asking pre-order holders to watch for an invitation via email or check their Ford.com account. The automaker indicated that later pre-order holders might have to wait for vehicles from the following model year. (Ford also noted that over 75 percent of reservation holders were new to the brand.) 

Deliveries of the 2022 F-150 Lightning pickup will begin in spring of 2022 with a starting MSRP of $39,974 before any available tax incentives. However, some reports indicate that some dealers may be dinging customers up to $30,000 extra to be among the first to receive their vehicles. 

Ford recently announced that it would triple production of the Mustang Mach-E to reach 200,000 units per year by 2023, with plans to have the "global capacity to produce 600,000 BEVs annually." To do that, it's building what it calls its "most advanced, most efficient auto production facility in its 118-year history in Tennessee," along with three battery plants built in collaboration with SK Innovation. All of that represents a total $11.4 billion investment with 11,000 new jobs created.

The F-150 Lightning is eligible for a full $7,500 US BEV tax credit as of today (along with any state subsidies), but Ford is expected to hit its 200,000 vehicle eligibility limit later this year. At that point, the credit will gradually be phased out unless new legislation is passed that would change the rules. 

Tesla's sales success in 2021 continued right to the very end of the year. The company has revealed that it delivered 936,172 electric cars in 2021, about 308,600 of them in the fourth quarter. While that isn't the magic 1 million figure the company might have hoped for, it's close — and nearly double the 499,550 Tesla handed to customers in 2020.

The year gone by wasn't stellar for the Model S and Model X. Deliveries of those higher-end vehicles dropped by more than half in 2021, from 57,039 cars to 24,964. That wasn't a complete shock, though, as many customers wanted to (or had to) wait for S and X revamps that weren't slated to ship until spring, including the high-performance Plaid variants.

The delivery numbers are significant given chip shortages that have plagued the automotive industry and even led Tesla to ship some cars without USB ports. The company is also poised to keep growing between the planned Cybertruck launch in 2022 and new factories in the Austin and the Berlin areas.

This trajectory isn't guaranteed, however. Tesla had a mixed 2021 that included product delays (including the Cybertruck and Semi), gradual price hikes and a string of recalls, including one in December that targeted half a million vehicles with camera and trunk flaws. There are concerns Tesla's growing reputation for build quality issues could weigh the company down. That's also excluding competitive threats — Tesla will have to fend off Ford's F-150 Lightning, the Cadillac Lyriq, the Mercedes EQA and other EVs from big-name rivals. Elon Musk's outfit is in a good position given its existing performance, but the market could change quickly.

Every car is the result of a long development process in which automakers build many pre-production vehicles that never see the light of day. Rather than scrapping one of its Ioniq 5 test vehicles entirely, Hyundai repurposed the car's parts to make an air purifier.

According to a YouTube video description, the model "went through numerous tests to ensure our safety." The video notes that, over the course of a year, the vehicle was used to test the likes of the Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, pass-by noise regulation and wind tunnel noise.

The video shows Hyundai engineers stripping the Ioniq 5 to its bones, then designing a completely different product using the components. Among other parts, they used the cooling fan, door panels, LED tail lamp, infotainment unit and, of course, the filter unit. The engineers put a 20-inch alloy wheel on the top of the case (so the purifier is probably pretty large), while the car's emblem adds some professional branding.

Although many car parts are already recyclable, including batteries, this is a neat experiment. It suggests there are other sustainable ways to repurpose a car that's otherwise outlived its usefulness. Meanwhile, Hyundai started deliveries of the Ioniq 5 in the US this month.

Tesla's recall-filled 2021 isn't over quite yet. Bloombergreports Tesla has issued recalls for just over 475,000 vehicles to fix defects in camera systems and trunks. To start, the automaker has recalled all Model 3 cars in the 2017 to 2020 model years over a concern repeated use of the trunk may wear down a coaxial cable for the rearview camera — too much use and you may lose the signal entirely.

The other recall covers 119,009 Model S sedans in the 2014 to 2021 model years. A factory misalignment of the front trunk (aka frunk) latch assembly can prevent a secondary latch from working properly, increasing the chances the trunk will pop open mid-drive.

The Model 3 flaw doesn't exist in 2021 and newer production runs, while Model S drivers are safe if their EVs were built after December 23rd, 2020. You'll have to visit Tesla to get a fix, but the company will compensate anyone who paid for relevant repairs before the recalls took effect.

None of the defects led to crashes or injuries, Tesla said. However, the recalls cap a series of issues that include an NHTSA investigation over Autopilot safety, recalls for components like touchscreens, and complaints about build quality problems like panel gaps. Simply speaking, the company developed more of a reputation for less-than-stellar reliability in 2021, and it's not clear when that situation might improve.