Chrysler Upgrading Uconnect for ‘Total Cockpit Experience’

CHELSEA, MI – Chrysler will begin taking its in-house Uconnect infotainment platform to new heights, starting with an embedded Wi-Fi hotspot in two models and more cohesion with each car’s center console and dashboard.

Mobile hotspots will be available in the’13 Ram 1500 pickup and the SRT Viper, with close attention paid to consumer reaction to the former.

“Many people use the Ram vehicle as their office,” Joni Christensen, head of Uconnect marketing, tells WardsAuto during a media backgrounder here, citing demand from construction workers and similar professionals who check email on the go.

Reading email and other simple applications will be the most a driver can do with Uconnect’s Wi-Fi, as Chrysler has partnered with Sprint to offer a 3G wireless connection. The technology can support up to six devices within the vehicle, but streaming movies and downloading music on the connection isn’t encouraged.

Chrysler hasn’t said which vehicles in its lineup will get the technology next, but executives predict it will be widely available in less than five years.

The auto maker says it is trying to give drivers a “total cockpit experience” by unifying as many of the vehicle’s telematics and electronic displays as possible. “It’s not just Bluetooth anymore,” Christensen says.

Distinctly fluidic dashboards and consoles with customizable displays above the steering wheel are available in the ’13 Dart and some other models. There are a variety of options – for example, a driver can place a sunflower background behind the tachometer. Even the “PRNDL” display can be changed to spell out “park,” “reverse” and so on.

Chrysler says it also has tightened up its warning alerts to more precisely indicate when service is needed. Drivers can toggle to a display to show air-pressure levels in each tire, and the auto maker says coming models will display fuel, oil and other fluid ranges more efficiently.

Voice-control applications have been boosted to help frustrated drivers accomplish tasks more easily and not “have to go through multiple steps,” Uconnect engineer Laith Shina tells WardsAuto.

Uconnect stores information using cloud-based technology instead of preset commands. The car “learns” its driver’s speech patterns, brand executives say.

“People really like to have a conversation with their car,” Christensen says.

Because many drivers may not be accustomed to newer technologies, Chrysler says it is trying to make it simpler for them to get used to such gizmos as they become more common. “It’s so people can adapt to the technology at their own pace,” Christensen notes.

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