BMW is cooking up something big for CES 2023, and to advertise it, the automaker has engaged the help of some of the ’80s biggest stars. In its latest teaser for something called “Dee,” the brand has turned to David Hasselhoff and his famous character Michael Knight’s talking car, a modified Pontiac Firebird known as K.I.T.T.
The short video, posted to BMW’s social media channels, features Knight asking K.I.T.T. what it knows about “this Dee character” following a stunt that saw the product “hack” the brand’s social media channels earlier this month. The car responds that it doesn’t know much, but says that Dee’s Las Vegas debut will be “something everyone will be talking about.”
The connection to the talking car is interesting, as another video posted on December 20 features Arnold Schwarzenegger interacting with Dee directly, this time as a digital assistant, not unlike K.I.T.T. In that teaser, the actor is speaking to a robotic voice, asking it to help him pick virtual outfits for a video that they will apparently star in together.
More: BMW Will Use Amazon’s Alexa For Its Next-Gen Voice Assistant
On December 22, meanwhile, the brand posted a short video of a woman using instant messages to communicate with “Dee” on her smartphone. In this teaser video, Dee writes that it will be introduced on Thursday, January 5, 2023.
Earlier today, the brand posted another video, showing the animation of two fists bumping from the Arnold Schwarzenegger video over a reply from a user that reads “Absolutely one of the best friends is cars (BMW).”
While BMW is being coy about details, the use of a famous talking car from pop culture, the reference to a car being a best friend, and the videos showing people communicating with “Dee” suggest that this is some sort of voice assistant technology that BMW is developing.
Indeed, the automaker is working on a new in-car voice assistant that will be powered by Amazon Alexa. This, the automaker said, would allow its drivers to interact with their vehicles in a more natural way that distracts less from the task of driving. It seems that owners may soon be able to communicate with their cars through their phones, too.
Speaking at Amazon’s annual Devices and Services launch earlier this year, BMW’s senior vice president of technical developments, Stephan Durach, promised that it would introduce a new automotive-specific voice assistant on the Alexa platform that could control music, remotely manage a smart home, add items to a shopping list, and check the weather. The new technology, he said, will be in BMW vehicles within the next two years.
“The Alexa technology will enable an even more natural dialogue between driver and vehicle, so drivers can stay focused on the road,” said Durach. “This will bring the digital experience to an entirely new level.”