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Toyota Introduces Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa Retrofit To 2018 Camry, Sienna

First Mazda, now Toyota! Starting with the 2019 Avalon, the automaker now offers Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa in the United States of America. Older models such as the 2018 Camry and 2018 Sienna can be upgraded with the help of a retrofit, and the update is free of charge.
Toyota Camry 11 photos
Photo: Toyota
2018 Toyota Camry production2018 Toyota Camry production2018 Toyota Camry production2018 Toyota Camry production2018 Toyota Camry production2018 Toyota Camry production2018 Toyota Camry production2018 Toyota Sienna2018 Toyota Sienna2018 Toyota Sienna
Owners of these two nameplates will be notified when to bring their cars in at the dealership, and looking forward, Toyota announced that “many of our 2019 and most of our 2020 models” will feature Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa. Took you long enough!

“We are always striving to bring highly desirable services to our vehicles,” said Steve Basra, vice president of Connected Technologies. “This new program enables Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa on some of our most popular vehicles already on the road.”

Looking at the bigger picture, Mazda is charging $199 for the upgrade, plus labor. This shows that Toyota is better in terms of after-sales service, an area that most automakers tend to ignore. To whom it may concern, surprising existing customers is what keeps them loyal.

In a separate announcement, Toyota decided to postpone DSRC in the United States. The plan was to roll out the Dedicated Short-Range Communications module in 2021, but that’s no longer the case. Factors include the need for greater commitment from the automotive industry and federal government. Given these circumstances, Toyota “will continue to re-evaluate the deployment” of this technology.

V2X or vehicle-to-everything communication is fine and dandy, but on the other hand, there are bigger problems to address these days. One of them would be the deteriorating infrastructure in the United States and the other is the automotive industry’s love for planned obsolescence. Adding more complexity to a car without taking care of existing issues is uncalled for.

Turning our attention back to the Camry and Sienna, both models are available at $23,945 and $31,415 before destination charge. The mid-size sedan comes standard with the 2.5-liter Dynamic Force engine while the three-row minivan features a 3.5-liter V6.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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