![]() It also plans to increase the scope of the project. Originally scheduled for a one-year run, Volkswagen says that it will now sponsor the program indefinitely. Thanks to the strong response, Volkswagen is extending the People's Car Project. Instead of a phone, the concept uses a touchscreen-equipped vehicle key to provide information about the car, such as fuel level and security. The Smart Key is a twist on current generation smartphone integration. The Music Car uses a series of exterior OLED lights to create light shows in tune to the driver's music - kind of the opposite of the "safe cars" that Loasby mentions. ![]() The other two ideas don't quite inspire the "futuristic nostalgia" of the Hover Car. "The trend is towards safe cars that can easily navigate overcrowded roads and have a personal, emotional and exciting design." "The creative ideas from the ‘People's Car Project' give us a valuable insight into the wishes of Chinese drivers," Simon Loasby, Head of Design at Volkswagen Group China, said. Volkswagen defines the car as an all-electric two-seat city car that hovers just above the ground and travels along electromagnetic roadways. The Hover Car is the concept that catches our attention the most, if only for the fact that it brings back childhood memories of the hoverboard that Marty McFly used as an escape vessel in Back to the Future II. It developed concept cars around the ideas and is displaying them at the Beijing Motor Show. "We are no longer just building cars for, but also with customers and at the same time initiating a national dialog which gives us a deep insight into the design preferences, needs and requirements of Chinese customers."įrom the initial 119,000 ideas, Volkswagen picked three of its favorites. "The ‘People's Car Project' in China marks the beginning of a new era in automobile design", Luca de Meo, Director of Marketing, Volkswagen Group said. ![]() Since debuting the project in China nearly a year ago, Volkswagen has inspired 33 million website visitors and 119,000 unique ideas for possible products and technologies. The Hover Car is one of three top concepts that Volkswagen procured through the crowd-sourced "People's Car Project" (PCP). But a Volkswagen that hovers a few feet over the ground? That channels a mix of Back to the Future and The Jetsons that adds some excitement to the personal mobility segment. The Segway was never exactly an enviable ride, and newer concepts like the GM EN-V aren't any better. Volkswagen was so impressed by Wang Jia’s idea, they produced this 3-minute video to showcase the levitating pods.The world of personal mobility transporters doesn't bring a whole lot of glamor. It’s all still just a concept for now – but seeing as that it uses technology that we already know exists (which we also saw in Google Self-Driving Cars) – it’s only a matter of time before we’re all flying on down to work. The car also has an autopilot function, and voice recognition that can be activated on command. It’s operated by using a joystick, and the dashboard info – like your speed, mileage, and engine cues – are all displayed digitally. It moves the vehicle based off the traveling speed and distance of surrounding cars, and if it detects anything in the way, it will brake automatically to prevent collisions.Īnd with its small footprint, the two-seating pod is easier to park than regular vehicles. ![]() In order for it to work, though, electromagnetic mineral strips need to be embedded underneath the roads (kind of like how maglev trains function).Īnother cool feature about the Hover Car is the Safety Sensor. One of them was this Hover Car, which looks like it came straight out of the movies: Youtube/VolkswagenĬreated by student Wang Jia, The Hover Car is a zero-emission vehicle that can travel by using a magnetic force to keep it suspended several feet off the ground. After all, their name “Volkswagen” literally translates to “people’s car” in both German and Chinese.Īfter sifting through over a hundred thousand submissions, they narrowed it down to three finalists. They called it, “The People’s Car Project”. Back in 2011, Volkswagen asked the people of China to submit what they thought the car of the future should look like.
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