After years, perhaps at General Motors, they found a way to definitively relaunch Cadillac: the luxury brand of what was once the largest company on the planet (not just the most important car brand). In fact, thanks to autonomous driving, designers can indulge themselves by redesigning the interior as if it were a living room.
Mobility
Because air taxis will become a reality with autonomous driving
by Antonio Lo Campo
Yes, because without a steering wheel and other things between their feet, GM’s designers envision a future in which passengers in luxury cars, free from driving, can relax and enjoy the journey like never before. For this reason, at the General Motors style center they have already made some prototypes (called PersonalSpace and SocialSpace) to make them understand their vision of the future. It all starts with how you get into the car: you do it standing up because a piece of roof opens with the door. A solution already designed years ago by Giorgetto Giugiaro and then seen on the Rolls Royce electric concept car, but which here takes on a different meaning because the passenger compartment is a real living room: instead of a traditional steering wheel or dashboard, the “pilot” (so to speak why he will not drive anymore) there is a huge wraparound LED screen in front of you and you can sit on a reclining sofa. Passengers in turn can choose entertainment, wellness recovery or augmented reality to enhance their travel experience, using the gaze or tactile controls hidden in the armrests to select the various options.
Interview
Togg: “We will transform the car into a new generation smartphone”
by Vincenzo Borgomeo
Not only that: augmented reality superimposes points of interest and other details on the screen, offering passengers a more immersive experience, as if they were floating along the road. And then biometric sensors can detect passengers’ heart rate and temperature to detect stress levels, responding with unique aromas, lights and sounds to improve their well-being. All very nice, but it remains to be clarified how all this technology will marry with airbags, seat belts and pretensioners, obviously necessary on anything that moves on wheels. On this aspect at General Motors they say nothing. Maybe they have other news in store. Like that the cars will all travel in a row, on tracks, pulled by a tractor. But this “thing” already exists and is called a train.