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Audi new flagship limousine, the A8, has not really wowed the plutocrats after a lavish unveiling in Miami earlier this month.
The styling has been criticized as being contrived – rendering a car which is generally accepted as being considerably less handsome than its predecessor.
Underneath the underwhelming surfacing and odd proportions there is a smorgasbord of cutting edge technology, some of it which escaped us after the disappointment of the A8's styling at launch.
One of the cleverer techno trinkets is Audi’s latest generation Multi-Media-Interface (MMI) system which controls most of the car’s digitisation.
I can see my pool...
Amongst the new MMI system’s array of digital functionality is the first application of Google Earth in a production car – and we all know how addictive Google Earth is…
Although the A8’s traditional hard-disk based navigation system is quite comprehensive, an optional modem has been integrated into the MMI nav-plus option which enables Google Earth streaming.
This means you can use Google Maps and Earth to plan a trip.
Your destination and route data is collated with Google functionality and the A8’s automatic cruise control, adaptive headlights and eight-speed automatic transmission's shift regime all adapt according. The result is the safest, most stress-free journey imaginable - allegedly.
We’re not sure how useful the Google Earth terrain modeling feature is (unless you are a rather wealthy geographer or landscape photographer), but it just looks so cool when you are on the move we doubt anybody actually cares.
The styling has been criticized as being contrived – rendering a car which is generally accepted as being considerably less handsome than its predecessor.
Underneath the underwhelming surfacing and odd proportions there is a smorgasbord of cutting edge technology, some of it which escaped us after the disappointment of the A8's styling at launch.
One of the cleverer techno trinkets is Audi’s latest generation Multi-Media-Interface (MMI) system which controls most of the car’s digitisation.
I can see my pool...
Amongst the new MMI system’s array of digital functionality is the first application of Google Earth in a production car – and we all know how addictive Google Earth is…
Although the A8’s traditional hard-disk based navigation system is quite comprehensive, an optional modem has been integrated into the MMI nav-plus option which enables Google Earth streaming.
This means you can use Google Maps and Earth to plan a trip.
Your destination and route data is collated with Google functionality and the A8’s automatic cruise control, adaptive headlights and eight-speed automatic transmission's shift regime all adapt according. The result is the safest, most stress-free journey imaginable - allegedly.
We’re not sure how useful the Google Earth terrain modeling feature is (unless you are a rather wealthy geographer or landscape photographer), but it just looks so cool when you are on the move we doubt anybody actually cares.
