Yahoo Autos ChatGPT, Vinfast, And Awesome Honda Concepts: The Biggest Car News To Come Out Of CES
I’ve spent the last handful of days making my way through the vast labyrinth that is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There are more booths, exhibits and speeches than any one person can count, so we decided to wrap up all of our car content from CES in a pretty bow and hand it over to you folks.
This is a highlight of the biggest car-related news we saw at CES 2024. We’ve got everything from tank-turning electric Mercedes-Benz G-Classes and wild new concept cars from Honda, to buttons returning to the Volkswagen GTI and Kia’s adorable new modular work vehicles. We also got a chance to see some new concept cars from VinFast that’ll hopefully be better than its current slate of vehicles, Sony Honda Mobility’s latest Afeela EV, Swarovski crystals inside a car and so, so much more.
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The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas usually doesn’t have many interesting debuts when it comes to the automotive side of things. Usually it’s some electric vehicle platform news, or a new type of infotainment system. Sony genuinely shocked the world in 2020 when it rolled out the Vision-S electric sedan concept car, then shocked the world again when it unveiled a crossover concept in 2022. A few months later, Sony announced it was entering a partnership with Honda to actually produce a production car, and at CES 2023 the brands revealed a production-intent concept called Afeela.
It seems as Sony and Honda really have been serious about building a car together, as Monday at CES 2024 the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture showed off a more production-ready version of the Afeela sedan than what we’ve previously seen. It has slightly redesigned bumpers front and rear with more production-ready lighting setups, real side-view mirrors, a new active rear spoiler, more realistic cutlines and window glazing, and other little details.
By Daniel Golson
You Got Any Games On Your BMW?
BMW says its presence at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show is “... dedicated to the digital customer experience.” For the automaker, this means new infotainment experiences that expand its in-car gaming offerings.
In-car gaming at BMW made its debut with the recently designed 5 Series and a feature called the AirConsole gaming platform. With the platform, owners can access games through the car’s infotainment screen and play them via Bluetooth, using their mobile devices as controllers. BMW announced Monday its adding more third-party games for the platform that owners can access through BMW’s ConnectedDrive Store. Split-screen gaming has been added as well, and all of this will be available on models running BMW’s Operating System 9.
By Lawrence Hodge
ChatGPT Comes To Volkswagen
We’re living in the end times, and that means Volkswagen announced Monday it is adding ChatGPT artificial intelligence to its cars, integrating the AI into the automaker’s IDA voice assistant.
Volkswagen made the announcement on the opening day of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company says it’s the first volume manufacturer to offer ChatGPT as a standard feature starting in the second quarter of 2024. Here’s the catch though: it’s still up in the air whether or not it’ll come to the U.S.
By Andy Kalmowitz
Kia’s Cute PBV Concepts
As small vans are gradually dying off in the U.S., Kia just introduced its new line of electrified commercial-style vans with some revolutionary plans to shake up not just the van world, but the entire automobile as we know it. The first model slated to begin Korean production in 2025 is the PV5, which is aimed at targeting ride-hailing drivers, delivery drivers and utility services.
Kia’s modular platform is called the Platform Beyond Vehicle, or PBV. Owners will be able to change the layout of their van whenever they feel like it, so a PV5 can go from a standard height people hauler to a high-roof cargo van with a few simple steps. In addition to the PV5, which was shown in multiple configurations, Kia also revealed a tiny PV1 designed for easy mobility in hyper-urban environments, and the PV7, the largest model in the lineup.
By Logan Carter
Honda’s Awesome 0 Series Concepts
Honda is getting serious about electric vehicles. The automaker, which has been a bit behind the curve when it comes to EVs, has unveiled a pair of electric concepts as part of their new Honda 0 series called the Saloon and Space-Hub at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The new 0 Series is meant to symbolize the automaker’s new direction when it comes to both design and engineering. Everything comes from three core principles with this new line of cars: Thin, Light and Wise. Honda says they counter the traditional constraints of EVs while building on Honda’s “M/M” (man maximum/machine minimum) philosophy.
By Andy Kalmowitz
Get Classy With Swarovski
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is always a fount of jaw-dropping new technology, from robots and foldable TVs to the latest smart home devices and even food. Automakers and suppliers have come to CES in recent years with everything from actual new car reveals to more over-arching tech announcements, but a lot of the time it’s pretty boring stuff, especially for the every day enthusiast. But this year Continental has unveiled a new transparent in-car display that could revolutionize automotive interior design.
Called the Crystal Center Display, the screen was jointly developed by Continental and Swarovski Mobility. An Austrian brand that has been around since 1895, Swarvoski is one of the largest crystal producers in the world, and it already has a presence in the automotive world. The old Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe had Swarovski crystals in the LED headlights, and a number of new BMWs are offered with headlights and interior accents like seat and iDrive controls made from Swarovski crystal.
By Daniel Golson
VinFast Surprises With Tiny, Cheap Crossover
At CES in Las Vegas on Tuesday embattled Vietnamese car company VinFast brought the Jabbawockeez dance crew onstage to unveil its new pickup truck, the Wild. While that pickup is just a concept for now, VinFast also used its CES presentation to formally announce that its super small, super cute and hopefully super cheap VF3 electric SUV will be sold in America, according to Motor1.
The VF3 has total Suzuki Jimny vibes in terms of styling, but it’s much, much smaller. At just 125.6 inches long, the VF3 is almost a foot shorter than even the kei version of the Jimny, and it’s only a couple inches longer than the old Scion iQ. That means the VF3 is also nearly two feet shorter than the new Fiat 500e, which will be the smallest EV on sale when it reaches U.S. dealers within the next few months.
By Daniel Golson
