Since its launch 11 months ago, Volkswagen’s People’s Car Project website has had 33 million visitors and over 119,000 ideas submitted for evaluation. Three of those vehicle and technology concepts have been further developed by VW and are currently being showcased at Auto China.
The Music Car has been designed as a means of self-expression; equipped with organic light emitting diodes, the vehicle’s exterior colour changes with the driver’s choice of music. A great idea, although – we think – an extra feature could see the car changing to a more calming hue when tense traffic situations arise. The next item is a Smart Key. Nine millimetres in thickness, it uses a high-resolution touchscreen to keep the driver informed of climate conditions, the fuel level and the car’s security via a 3G network. A bird’s eye view can also be kept on the vehicle thanks to a realtime satellite transmission.
Finally, our favourite, is the Hover Car. An environmentally-friendly urban vehicle, this cute, zero-emission two-seater hovers just above the ground along electromagnetic roadworks around towns and cities. It’s nice to see something a little different being touted as a vision of the future.
“The creative ideas from the ‘People’s Car Project’ give us a valuable insight into the wishes of Chinese drivers. The trend is towards safe cars that can easily navigate overcrowded roads and have a personal, emotional and exciting design,” said Simon Loasby, Head of Design at Volkswagen Group China.
[Source: Volkswagen]