Judging by how ugly I find the Google Android G1 smartphone, when I found out the designers behind it, Mike and Maaike, had designed a car I was a little worried. Interestingly, the concept behind the Autonomobile is an interesting one, according to the design firm “the end of driving.” Never again will you need the constant traffic updates pumping out of your GPS dashboard, because in the Autonomobile traffic speeds are irrelevant.
Inside the house-shaped vehicle is a wraparound sofa for passengers, panoramic windows and in-floor electronic components. As for the driver? While the Autonomobile doesn’t have one, instead using a touch panel that asks where you want to go and how you’d like to get there, giving options such as “Take the scenic route.”
Speed means nothing. It’s all about the journey, according to Mike and Maaike.
As Kit Eaton from Fast Company points out though, for this slow driving concept to actually stick, the design firm would also have to reinvent a warp speed, money-obsessed society. If only.
