Could The New Mercedes-Benz Line Be So Intuitive It Can Read Your Mind, Literally?
Giancarlo Perlas January 6, 2016
Wouldn’t it be awesome if all you had to do was think about something and it got done? That may soon be a reality with the new intuitive Mercedes-Benz concept car making its way onto an assembly line near you.
The new autonomous concept car is the wave of the future. Mercedes-Benz may not the first to unveil an autonomous car, but it is certainly one of the most innovative ones.
An autonomous car is an automobile that can drive itself. The technology may not be all there just yet, but the new Mercedes-Benz is about as close as car buyers are going to get for the next couple of years. Built in stages, the autonomous car will subtly introduce a self-driving system.
Most of us, not willing to turn over complete control, will have the option to give it over little by little. The first generation of these types of cars will only be an introduction to vehicles that think for themselves. The Mercedes-Benz car body repair shops are playing a big role in this production process by fixing the autonomous vehicles daily after failed launches.
The future is headed for cars that will get you there without effort on your part. Soon you will be able to input an address, sit back and watch out the side window. But the problem is that most car buyers want to be in control of the car. Being able to decide how fast to go, or how to make it there, a lot of car drivers enjoy the experience of car driving, not just reaching their destination.
The new self-driving cars will be designed with a totally different attitude in mind. Many traditional drivers like Jaguar’s CEO Ian Callum isn’t personally looking forward to a self-driving car. With its competitor BMW already looking at automobiles as an extension of a home, designing it to be more of a living room than an automobile.
Only time will tell where where Mercedes-Benz is headed. The design of cars for the future is already beginning to transform. Cars using electrical technology require a smaller engine in the front, which is changing the face of car aerodynamics.
Never before has a car been altered for what it does, it has always been designed with the car driver in mind. A whole new trend on the horizon, it is uncertain how car drivers will respond and whether they will like the new technology and build.
If the day comes when cars can be 100% autonomous, human driving errors will be completely eradicated. That means that safety will no longer be a high priority. The decrease in car accidents due to autonomous cars will lead to cars that are designed no longer have to keep us safe in a crash. Designers won’t have to worry about safety features, which will open the potential for a car to be wholly designed to be comfortable and fun to ride in.
Transportation trends are changing everywhere with young people in busy cities opting to take public transportation and not making their first car purchase along with their new job. That has many car makers scratching their heads trying to find just the right niche market.
A true diversification is arising in the car world, making car manufacturers adjust to new demands. The thing that will always determine a car’s design is that it has to accommodate humans. That means windows and foot room no matter what shape the car is in.
The old way to design cars was built around taking the musts like safety, collision protection, and the ability of a driver to see road conditions. The new wave will not have those constraints, but will nostalgia beat out a revamped design?
Will people always have an affinity for the way that things used to be? The only constant that car makers are incorporating across the board is technological advances to make the car an extension of ourselves and our lives.
Some purist drivers at heart may ask, “What is the fun of getting there if you don’t enjoy the ride?” For now, cars driving themselves completely is not a reality, but it is most likely where the future of car building will be.
Mercedes-Benz is looking at the same design upgrades as other car makers, a car that knows what you want when you want it.
Driving itself? Not just yet, but being able to plug in your smartphone, use WiFi when on the road, and mold a driver’s seat by just one button are about as close to heaven as you can get.
