23 April 2001: It took 15 months to build by hand, cost $2 million to make and gets its brainpower from a couple of jerry-rigged laptop computers and a keyboard stowed behind the backseat.
All of which means this Volvo hatchback won't be showing up in dealerships any time soon. But some of the features built into this orange-pink concept car, spotlighted at the New York International Auto Show, demonstrate where manufacturers are heading as they experiment with technology to make driving safer.
It may be years before cars are available with innovations like the tiny camera mounted below the Volvo's side-view mirror to detect when an object is in the car's blind spot and beam an image to the driver.
But now ther are several cars being developed which incorporate high-tech devices to reduce risks on the road. Others are on the way. "What we wanted to show here are technologies that can be put into cars in the near future," said Daniel Johnston, product communications manager for Volvo Cars of North America. "We didn't want to show items that were just an idea in an engineer's mind."
In fact, engineers have long been able to build such cars, but were limited by cost and practicality. "A lot of the features they're talking about are things that have been in development for years," said Art Spinella, an auto industry consultant for CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore.
With the advent of sophisticated, low-cost microprocessors, major innovations are within reach.
For example, Mercedes Benz has S-Class cars equipped with optional radar, mounted behind the grille, that helps maintain distance between the car and other vehicles when a driver is using cruise control.
BMW is showcasing a new interior display planned for some of its 2002 models that operates with a single mouse-like knob, to control everything from temperature to music and keep driver's eyes focused on the road.
Volvo says it plans to incorporate some of the innovations from its concept car into production models over the next few years, including advances like fibre-optic headlamps that adapt to road contours and curves.
Many more manufacturers are embracing the more significant, albeit less exciting, safety features like side-curtain airbags and improved seatbelt systems. But the gadgetry gives carmakers something such sensible innovations don't.
The safety innovations won't come cheap, since most are available in luxury cars. But over time, manufacturers say those items will become more standard over a broader range of cars. They point to developments like antilock braking systems, now available on many cars.
Car buyers should expect to see plenty more high-tech advances based on safety, security or convenience, analysts say. CFC
