TU-Automotive Detroit is known as “the undisputed home of the connected car,” and as such, each year brings a plethora of announcements concerning infotainment and autonomous driving. This time around, navigation specialist TomTom covered both.
The biggest reveal is that the Dutch brand has officially launched HD Map and RoadDNA data for 17 new states, both of which provide essential information for carmakers developing self-driving technology. In total, TomTom has mapped out 20 states.
“With over 122,000 kilometers of HD Map coverage globally, we’re equipping our automotive customers with the data needed to continue to push autonomous driving forward,” said Willem Strijbosch, head of autonomous driving at TomTom. “The importance of having a map in the vehicle for autonomous driving is now widely accepted; TomTom has responded to this need with an unprecedented ability to provide HD Maps today, while others are still in the R&D stage.”
Read more: TomTom’s Trucker 5000 is specifically suited for big and tall driving
HD Map and RoadDNA data is now available for interstates in the following areas: Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, California, Michigan, and Nevada. TomTom also covers Germany’s famous Autobahn network.
It wasn’t all about driverless tech at TU-Automotive Detroit though, because TomTom made another big announcement regarding infotainment — the brand has signed a deal to provide location and navigation content for Volvo Cars starting in 2019. The new services will be built into the Swedish automaker’s new infotainment system, which will be available on cars riding on the SPA platform (XC90, S90, V90) as well as the upcoming CMA architecture.
“We are extremely pleased to announce this collaboration between TomTom and Volvo Cars, one of the most respected car brands in the world,” said Antoine Saucier, managing director of TomTom Automotive. “Thanks to the trust that Volvo Cars has put into TomTom’s products, we are uniquely positioned in the automotive industry to offer Volvo Cars future-proof systems that meet the rapidly changing market requirements.”
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.