Maybe this is what luxury travel looks like far in the future.
Hidden among General Motor’s big technology announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show, the automaker showed off a pair of concepts that are almost certainly never making production but are pretty cool anyway. The Cadillac Personal Autonomous Vehicle and Cadillac Vertical Take-Off And Landing imagine a future of transport where humans are no longer in control.
The Cadillac Personal Autonomous Vehicle has a boxy, pod-like shape because maximizes space in the interior is a bigger focus than a stylish exterior. The cabin has a wraparound couch occupying three of the walls. Dark wood touches provide a high-class look. The window and body panel tilt away separately to create a large space for entering and exiting the cabin.
Level 4 self-driving where a vehicle pilots itself but still has a steering wheel is still a technological challenge for a mass-market product, so something like the Cadillac Personal Autonomous Vehicle with no controls is a long way from entering production. Still, it’s fascinating to see how Cadillac imagines this future.
Cadillac Vertical Take-Off And Landing concept is clearly even further from being a production-viable vehicle, but it’s probably more fascinating of the pair of vehicles. It has a glass front section for a clear view of the world, and the single occupant sits in a cushy, swiveling seat
It would allow for short-distance travel for a single person, like from rooftop to rooftop in a city. The electric motors power the four rotors and allow for a top speed of 56 miles per hour (90 kilometers per hour). The company also hints at showing a two-seat version of this drone in the future.
Conceivably, Cadillac imagines these two concepts working together. So the drone would pick you up and go to the nearest landing area. The autonomous pod would be waiting for you there to drive to your destination.
Sources:
Cadillac, Roadshow via YouTube
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