#Mercedes Teases "Luxury In Motion" Autonomous Driving Concept

Mercedes Benz has released it's "Luxury In Motion" autonomous driving concept car and it truly looks like it would be a spectacular vehicle.

Mercedes says:

"The Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion research vehicle makes the future tangible with the revolutionary concept of autonomous driving. A luxury sedan with total connectivity between vehicle, passengers, and the outside world, it's a preview of how the self-driving car of the future could evolve into a platform for communication and interaction."

The shape is predictably futuristic, bringing to mind the 2056-era vehicles of "Minority Report." Clearly, with autonomous driving, the interior is expanded, and the windshield is positively rakish, almost 40 degrees, since the idea is to make the most of the interior space.

A video of the vehicle - which no one is under any illusion will be coming to a showroom anytime soon, or in this configuration - portrays autonomous driving as a peaceful and serene event, with video screens embedded in the doors, and an automatic table expanding from between the seats with the slightest touch of a hand.

Of course it seems to take a minute and a half to expand upwards, reminding one of the futuristic-looking "electronic curtains" that closed in a mere seven minutes with the touch of a remote, portrayed in 1950s films showing how wonderful the future would be.

The four occupants (including, apparently, the "driver") are shown casually speaking with one another as the front row is turned backwards to face the rear occupants. This would seem to be the dawn of a new age of personal interaction in vehicles, until one realizes that the car would definitely be Wi-Fi enabled (since Chevy Impalas in 2015 already are) and the four would be heads-down in their smartphones, or Google Goggles, or whatever is big in 2025.

This kind of fanciful vision is par for the course for such speculative concepts, and we have to bear with them. Still, if the Mercedes of 2025 looks anything like this, we're in for some beautiful vehicles. Not that all but a few would be able to afford such a beast.

The Shocking #Concept Car Roots Of The 1996 Taurus [Auto Styling News]

An editor over at the CarBuzz facebook page asked "What The Hell Were They Thinking: 1996 Ford Taurus?"

One possible explanation for their apparent lapse of judgment? Good intentions gone awry.

Four years earlier, the Ghia Focus concept (1992) was an incredibly influential and thought-provoking design. And one must say, quite a radical one.

Based on "organic life," it was clearly ODD, but it had a point to make. The gill-like structures on the hood and back end, and a swooping, curvy rear with lights in strange places that resembled a strange rash were all animal-like in appearance. A rope-like devise that stretched from the front of the door to the trunk was obviously not ever going to make it to a production vehicle, but was meant to tease the eye and draw it to the rear of this beast. The raw beauty of it - perhaps too raw - was undeniable. It is almost Porsche-like. Certainly Ghia-like.

Whether the concept could have survived in the marketplace in this form is certainly is debatable.

But of course, as with many concepts, by the time this concept's influences began to make it into production in REAL cars - notably the 1996 Taurus -  it was FAR from what the designer had hoped it would be. Blame the bean-counters and the unimaginative executives for this.

And yet, perhaps overall, their interference on this one may be a good thing, This may have been too shocking of a design for 1996. Or even 2006.  But it's also a shame that the production '96 Taurus came off more like a dead fish than a car inspired by nature. It DID dare to be different, but in all the wrong ways, and was widely ridiculed. The concept pointed in a better direction.

The headlights of this concept vehicle could be easily used today on any car. Stripped of its odder elements, the shape would today be seen as a revolutionary and welcome challenge to Porsche, and with a proper engine, could actually make good on that challenge.

The most recent Ford Fusion shows that the company is fully capable of producing a beautiful vehicle that actually sells - and one that doesn't stray far from the original concept.. Perhaps slapping a new grille and proper tail lights on this gorgeous concept would be a market-pleaser as well.