Sleeping with Volvo new model

Sleeping with Volvo new model

Volvo of GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN - Concept cars come in a number of different flavors. There's a "you'll be able to buy a slightly more stylish version of this" concept aimed at drawing the public to a new model that's just months away from going on sale. There's the, "Hey look (and ignore our boring production car)" concept, like the Chrysler Atlantic or Cadillac Sixteen. And then there's the "Let's imagine 20 years into the future" concept. The latest Volvo, called the 360c, is definitely one of the latter.

"This is an example of how new opportunities will open up with new technology," said Volvo CEO and President Håkan Samuelsson when we got our first look at the 360c. It's optimistic reading how Volvo thinks the company can evolve as electric drive, autonomous driving, and AI assistants make the A-to-B process much more multimodal.

Yes, the good old "office on wheels" idea is there and accounted for, but only as one of a number of possible configurations for 360c. - Have we lost empathy for the traveler? - Samuelsson asked. "It's not about more time in your working day. So it's also a lightweight car that can compete with short-haul air travel or regional rail journeys, silently whisking you from Paris to Berlin overnight. Or it can be a day version, perfect for sightseeing along the way. Or it could even be a VIP lounge on wheels, perfect for emptying a bottle of something bubbly, or... brandy with friends for a night out.

"Transportation, mobility, just going places, getting around and having fun," explains Mårten Levenstam, Volvo's Senior Vice President Product Strategy. "It's an example of how we can provide the freedom to move, but it's a much bigger discussion than just cars going down." Levenstam compares the various emerging technologies we're bringing together under the mobility monitor to the early days of airplanes and cars.

"When something big happens, you always miss what's happening," he explained, referring to the fact that when the first plane took off in 1903, few people imagined air travel would become as routine as it has. "Now it's just a matter of putting the Wright brothers into context," Levenstam said. "Or, when the car was invented, everybody thought it was just a faster horse and carriage, no horse, but they failed to understand that all of our cities would be completely redefined because of the invention of the car.

Just as smartphones have become more than the touchscreen of our old phones, Levenstam said it's wrong to think narrowly about autonomous driving technology. "Yes, it's a car without a steering wheel, or maybe a taxi without a driver, but I think there will be much, much bigger applications," he said.

A 21st century sleeper car

We'll start with Volvo's most provocative ideas - that something like the 360c can induce short-range internal flight. Using the example of the Gothenburg to Stockholm journey, Levenstam referred to the fact that a 50-minute flight time is actually four hours door-to-door when you get to the airport via security, and then from the airport at the other end. As anyone who has to fly regularly knows - and the assembled journalists certainly fit that description - that's not four hours of quality.

The same trip in 360c may take a little longer, but it can get you to your destination in much more comfort. Longer journeys at night would be possible with the sleeper configuration, which - with the exception of a considerate cabin crew and bathroom - rivals the most luxurious first-class aircraft seating. A safety blanket would replace the seat belt when it's time to lie down, attaching to the restraint points to protect the passenger from spams.

Volvo cannot imagine selling this kind of autonomous vehicle to individual customers and is not interested in owning and operating its own transport network. But Leventam said he could see airlines buying and operating such fleets that diversify.

Source : https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/09/volvo-gets-optimistic-about-the-future-with-the-360c-driverless-concept/

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