Talking to the 2014 Chevrolet Impala: G.M.’s Improved MyLink

Talking to your car can be like trying to reason with a recalcitrant toddler. It often petulantly refuses to obey your commands or, worse, does the opposite of what you want. But in-vehicle voice recognition systems are gradually improving, as demonstrated by the new version of Chevrolet’s MyLink system.

Connected services are expected to continue to be a major selling point, and Chevrolet went to great pains to emphasize the system’s debut on the all-new, front-wheel-drive only 2014 Impala. Standard on the LT and LTZ trim packages, the revamped next generation MyLink was one of the highlights described by Phil Carlisle, product manager for the Impala, at a press briefing in New York last week.

The new system features an 8-inch touch screen that slides up out of the dash to reveal, James Bond-style, a hidden compartment behind the screen where drivers can stash a smartphone. (It can be locked down with a numeric code to put it in valet mode, preventing other drivers from accessing personal information, like your home address on the navigation system.) The touch screen is pressure sensitive, so owners can still operate its built-in navigation (now boasting 3-D graphics), phone, and radio functions while wearing gloves. Alternately, all the controls are duplicated via a traditional set of dials and buttons, as well as steering-wheel mounted controls.

MyLink also supports smartphone-based apps, but only two are included: live weather reports and streaming music from Pandora. While General Motors spokespeople would not reveal what apps might come next, G.M. is heavily promoting development software to outside companies so that new programs can be added.

The highlight of the MyLink system, however, is likely to be its voice recognition system. G.M. has added more sophisticated natural-language speech recognition. It does not rely on a fixed set of commands but instead can interpret full sentences and common phrases. It means owners should not have to read the owner’s manual and memorize commands just to tell MyLink what to do.

Indeed, during an hourlong test drive, the Impala seemed comfortable with my spoken requests. “Play the radio,” elicited a response asking me to specify AM or FM or to simply choose a station. “Play 104.3 please,” I politely requested, and the system confirmed my instructions and Cream’s “Born Under a Bad Sign” came from the Bose stereo system’s speakers.

Delivering navigation instructions proved to be just as easy. Asking the car to change the destination resulted in the system asking me if I wanted to use an address or look for a nearby point of interest. I purposely chose a street name that often flummoxes New York City cabdrivers (77th Street), but MyLink wasn’t stumped – although I failed to mention the city, causing the system’s feminine voice to suggest a Long Island location. Even when it misunderstood, the system suggested backing up and asked me to start with the city name.

To achieve this level of natural vocal agility, G.M. tweaked voice recognition software from Nuance, said Ara Eckel, a connected car specialist at G.M. Furthermore, the recognition software is built into the dash, rather than relying on remote, Internet-based servers like Apple’s Siri, so MyLink’s responses are quick and seamless.

The overall MyLink system is based on the software used in the Cadillac Cue system. As such, this represents G.M.’s effort to standardize on a single in-dash platform that could give owners a consistent look and feel across the company’s various model lines. It means volume controls and on-screen buttons will appear in the same position eventually on all the company’s vehicles, even if the colors and other design elements vary from Cadillac to Chevy to Buick.

Cruising back to the city with the sun in our eyes, the Impala began to warm up. Pressing the voice button, I demanded, “Change temperature!” But the computerized female voice responded that it didn’t understand my request. It turns out heating and air-conditioning can’t yet be controlled by voice. Thankfully, the buttons for that are still there.

2014 Chevy Impala

It's Official!! The ALL NEW Impala has touched down in our showroom!

Driven an Impala lately?

Once America's best-selling car, the full-size sedan has mostly been relegated to auto-rental fleets, police departments and car services. About 70% of sales come from fleets, according to Chevrolet, while only 30% comes from individual buyers.

The marketing challenge for the General Motors brand and its ad agency, Commonwealth, Detroit, is to flip that sales ratio "completely around," said Chevrolet Senior Marketing Manager Rich Martinek.

"This car is very much a retail play for us," he said. To get there, Chevy will have to modernize the Impala's image to appeal to younger, more affluent consumers. The median age of Impala owners is early 60s, said a spokeswoman, noting that's "very consistent" with other large-car models.

The first step is the sexier, sleeker 2014 model hitting showrooms this month, which Mr. Martinek said is aimed at "dynamic leaders" -- or successful, college-educated professionals making more than $90,000 a year. Chevy expects sales to break down 60/40 among men and women.

Commonwealth recently rolled out under Chevy's "Find New Roads" campaign a spot called "Tuxedo Man": a suave Impala owner moves through his glamorous days and nights to the tune of Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon."

Chevy, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, is also borrowing interest around the start of the season and working with MLB to create a series of "Here's to Baseball" videos at chevybaseball.com.

Launched in the 1958, the Impala eventually grew into America's best-selling vehicle. The Beach Boys wrote the song "409" about the big, powerful car and the Impala was one of the vehicles driven by "Bewitched's" Darrin Stephens in one of TV's earliest product-placement deals.

But the gas-guzzler fell on hard times in the 1970s and 1980s. GM discontinued the nameplate in 1985, brought it back in 1994 only to drop it again in 1996. Impala was resurrected in 2000.

Its best sales year in the last decade was 2004, according to Automotive News, when Impala raked in sales of 267,882 units. Last year, the brand sold 169,351 units. Chevrolet spent less than $700,000 on Impala advertising in 2012 vs. around $2.24 million the year before, according to Kantar Media.

Convincing younger, successful suburbanites that the car they know best as a rental or police cruiser should be at the top of their shopping list is "no easy task," said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst with auto consultancy Edmunds.com.

But she praised the baseball tie-up as a good fit. The Impala customer is "a very American kind of buyer," Mrs. Krebs said. "They still want the big car. ... It's certainly not your young, urban buyers."