Boxes on Wheels and Sporty Roadsters are the Future of Cars, Says Toyota Design Chief

As automated vehicle technology progresses and people become more and more confident that these artificial intelligence chauffeurs are not going to end up with crashes or injuries, the idea of what a commuter vehicle is evolving toward, as per Toyota Design Chief Simon Humphries, looks more like a fish tank than a vehicle. In other words, they’re self-driving boxes on wheels. And for those who want to control their driving or speed down the highway (which we highly advise against), modular roadsters will be available.   The man with the final word on design at one of the world’s biggest automakers sees a future dominated by self-driving boxes-on-wheels and souped-up sports cars.For Simon Humphries, who as of this year oversees design globally across Toyota Motor’s namesake and luxury Lexus brands, mobility will follow two divergent paths. One is the e-Palette, a customizable robo-van he designed that’s capable of transporting anything from people to pizza. The other is the uncompromising car-of-your-dreams that you’ll be able to buy precisely because the modular vehicle takes care of your more mundane mobility needs.Hired by the Japanese automaker as a designer in 1994, the 50-year-old Briton also did a brief stint at Sony, a company he remembers fondly, if nostalgically. He spoke with reporters at Toyota’s Nagoya office on Thursday after an annual round table event to introduce new executives.Continue Reading Here  

Boxes on Wheels and Sporty Roadsters are the Future of Cars, Says Toyota Design Chief is republished from CarDaddy News

source https://autonews.cardaddy.com/2018/02/16/design-chief-at-toyota-says-the-future-of-cars-is-boxes-and-roadsters/