Pandora is now available for streaming in select new Toyota models equipped with the Toyota Link app suite, the Internet music service said Monday in a news release. It said Pandora will be integrated into select cars from nearly two-thirds of all new Toyota vehicles shipped in Australia.

Voxx said it will supply dual DVD head restraints and Klipsch Image One headphones -- its first multisubsidiary OEM contract -- in all 2015 and 2016 model year Cadillac Escalade Platinum Edition vehicles. It's the first OEM integration of Klipsch audio products, said Voxx in a Wednesday news release. The rear-seat entertainment system comprises VoxxHirschmann custom front head restraints with dual 7-inch screen/DVD players, and a pair of Klipsch Image One wired headphones customized to work with the vehicles’ overhead screens. The headphones have a shorter cable, a 3.5mm audio connector and an audio harness in addition to an in-line volume control, said the company. Voxx CEO Pat Lavelle said it had always been the company’s intention to use Klipsch products in its OEM car business, and “this is just the beginning.”

Hyundai released a free app for Apple Watch that remotely flashes lights, locks doors and engages remote start in compatible vehicles, it said Tuesday. The Blue Link app gives users access to service information and allows them to control car start, lock and find functions with voice commands through Siri, Hyundai said. The app works with first- and next-generation model year 2012 or later Blue Link-equipped Azera, Genesis and Sonata models, said Hyundai.

All cars need to be equipped with dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) radio technology, Cisco Global Transportation Executive Barry Einsig plans to testify Thursday before the House Commerce Trade Subcommittee during its hearing on vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Einsig will testify that the “private sector is poised to deploy DSRC” in cars and “the corresponding IP network that will connect our roadways in ways never before possible.” Other witnesses will address the spectrum concerns in the upper 5 GHz, currently held by automotive interests for vehicle-to-vehicle tech but under debate about whether that spectrum can be used for licensed purposes. “Thorough and robust testing” is needed to evaluate that sharing, General Motors Executive Director-Global Connected Customer Experience Harry Lightsey will testify. The Wi-Fi Innovation Act (S-424/HR-821) raises “concerns of substantial delay and uncertainty with regards to the viability of the spectrum for DSRC that should be addressed before any legislation is considered further,” Lightsey will say. “We are very optimistic about a sharing proposal from Cisco that would operate on a ‘listen, detect and vacate’ basis. We have engaged with Cisco and plan to begin testing their technology as soon as possible.” The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

Spotify extended its partnership with Ford through the integration of its music-streaming service into the vehicle manufacturer's new Sync 3 system, said a Spotify blog post. Sync 3 is expected to be launched this summer in the 2016 models of the Ford Escape and Fiesta, and will include updated options for voice-controlled music selection, Spotify said Tuesday.

Within five years, Ford will migrate driver-assist technologies across its product lineup as part of phase two of its transition to advanced engineering and autonomous driving, it said in a news release. Ford’s Research and Innovation Center Palo Alto in California is working on the Ford Smart Mobility Plan that will take the company “to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data,” it said. A global Ford team is working to make the required sensing and computing technology “feasible for production” and continuing testing and refinement of algorithms, it said. Ford also said Tuesday that Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection technology will be available in the U.S. next year on an unnamed Ford-brand vehicle. The carmaker’s plan is to roll out the feature on most Ford products globally by 2019, it said. Ford also has been working to extend vehicle connectivity to wearables. An upcoming MyFord mobile app for smart watches will enable consumers to check from their wristbands driving range and battery charge for their plug-in vehicle and to find their parked cars, said the company.

A Cisco representative will be among the witnesses testifying Thursday before the House Commerce Trade Subcommittee alongside automotive interests. The hearing will focus on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, which relies on automotive-held spectrum in the upper 5 GHz that other stakeholders want to use for unlicensed purposes. In addition to Cisco Global Transportation Executive Barry Einsig, the witnesses are Peter Sweatman, director of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute; Nat Beuse, associate administrator-vehicle safety research for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; David St. Amant, president of the Econolite Group; and Harry Lightsey, General Motors executive director-global connected customer experience. In May, the Department of Transportation, FCC and NTIA “briefed Subcommittee on Communications and Technology staff on the testing progress for V2V communications,” the GOP memo said of Commerce lawmakers' bipartisan efforts in recent months (see 1505270044): “All agencies reported that they were working together with private industry stakeholders on test devices and protocols that can be used to test whether the spectrum can be shared without disrupting vehicle communications technology. The expectation is that testing could begin sometime within the next year.” The Democratic memo raised concerns about privacy and cybersecurity inherent in this connected-vehicle technology. “The potential for capture of personally identifiable information (PII) in connected vehicles has worried the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and some consumer groups,” the Democratic memo cautioned. “In October 2014, the FTC identified several potential privacy issues stemming from V2V communications, including the ability of vehicles to track consumers’ precise geolocation over time, the ability of hackers to remotely access a car’s internal computer network, and the ability of a vehicle to track driving habits that could be used to price insurance premiums without drivers’ knowledge or consent.” The hearing will be at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

The House Commerce Trade Subcommittee plans a hearing on vehicle-to-vehicle communication 10 a.m. June 25 in 2123 Rayburn. Committee leaders have been working with the auto companies on spectrum in the upper 5 GHz band given automotive interests hold this spectrum, which other stakeholders want to use for unlicensed Wi-Fi (see 1505270044). Witnesses weren’t announced.

House Commerce Committee lawmakers have begun meeting with stakeholders about the 5.9 GHz spectrum band, one senior Republican said this week. Senior committee Republicans and Democrats united to hold the first of what they intend to be ongoing meetings with the Department of Transportation, the FCC and NTIA recently, and a committee staffer told us last week they planned to meet with stakeholders for the band (see 1505270044). The 5.9 GHz issue is subject to debate on whether the spectrum, held in large part for intelligent transportation technology, can be shared for unlicensed use. “We’re moving forward on trying to make more spectrum available,” Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., told reporters this week. “We’ve got a working group working on 5.9 gig. And we’ve met with some of the auto companies and all on some of their issues. So we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Google Founder Sergey Brin, who's leading the company's autonomous car project, is open to the idea of releasing accident reports for crashes involving Google’s robot cars, he said during Google’s annual shareholders meeting Wednesday, a Consumer Watchdog news release said. Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project Director John Simpson, a Google shareholder, raised questions about the privacy and safety issues involving Google’s driverless cars and asked Google to release complete details of accidents, including all formal accident reports, the release said. Google has acknowledged its robot cars have been involved in 11 crashes since the company began testing them on public highways in California, but has made public only generic descriptions of the crashes. When Simpson asked if Google would protect the privacy of driverless car owners by not using for other purposes such as marketing the information gathered to operate the vehicles, Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said, according to the Consumer Watchdog release, that would “reduce innovation and our ability to deliver a great consumer product.”