06 Bmw 525i Sun Visor/shade on 2040-parts.com

Apple Carplay vs Android: the smartphone hits the road

By Damion Smy Motor Industry 11 June 2014 07:18 The days of frustrating in-car interfaces and clunky touchscreens are ending, as computing giants Apple and Google start unleashing the full power of smartphone technology in your car.  Apple has fired the opening salvo in the war on wheels with its ‘CarPlay’ system launched at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show and offered by Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo, and at least 15 other car brands. If you own an iPhone, you’ll find CarPlay natural and intuitive – it’s this type of familiarity that car companies and Apple are banking on to win you over. Cars have been able to play your iTunes library and read texts for a while, but CarPlay takes this functionality to a whole new level.

Truckers given the green light to drive faster

THERE'S good news for car drivers today as the government has officially increased the single-carriageway speed limit for heavy goods vehicles to 50mph. Previously, HGVs were limited to 40mph by law, leaving drivers' tempers to boil over in their cars while stuck in a long line of traffic. AA president Edmund King said: "This seems like a common sense move.

Chrysler’s future will see Lancia back in the UK

Lancia Phedra - to be replaced by a rebadged Chrysler Voyager Now Fiat and Chrysler have had time to sort out what the future holds for their joint future we are starting to see some concrete details emerging from the US. Chrysler revealed its grand five year plan this week and it seems clear that the only Chrysler brand that will see the light of day outside the US will be the Jeep. But even the Jeep is going to find itself endowed with Fiat underpinnings from 2013.