Is an automobile the pinnacle of technology or just another appliance?

CES - The most  important car show in the world

CES is the largest trade-show in the world. But that’s a distinction it’s held for some time now. Its most recent accolade is being labelled the ‘most important car show in the world.’ Well, that’s certain to ruffle some feathers at Cobo Centre in Motor City, Detroit – home of the North American International Auto Show, and once centre of the automotive universe. The fact that CES is held a week before the Detroit Auto Show probably didn’t help either. Buzzwords in Las Vegas during the first week of the year, which is when the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held, tend to be smart phone, tablet, laptop, printer, media player, and the like – all of which fall under the general category of ‘tech.’ This year, however, you heard more ‘Mercedes, Audi, and BMW,’ and less ‘Sony, LG, and HP.’ So, does that mean that the automobile has transcended the world of high technology and emerged as the greatest gadget of them all – or is it just another appliance? Well, for the first time ever, an automobile company developed a concept car specifically for CES. Mercedes is the self-proclaimed leader in autonomous vehicle technology, and they used the keynote address of Dr. Z – Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz – to unveil the F 015 Luxury in Motion concept. The F 015 is Mercedes’ vision for the future of mobility. And you do have to admit that it all looks extremely convincing – even the fact that the interior is more lounge bar than cockpit. But that’s exactly where Mercedes is going with this. They say that there are too many demands on your time, too many distractions. And so the F 015 is your serenity capsule as it were, your cocoon – where you can choose to drive if you feel like it, or just swivel your chair and entertain yourself with one of the many displays in the cabin – sorry, lounge. No, yoga room. Um, whatever it is… In all seriousness, though, the truth is that the technology actually exists to eliminate the weakest link from the controls – the driver! After all, the human is a flawed being. He or she responds irrationally to emotions – much better to have a microchip following a well-written program. So, while you folks are practising asanas in your Merc, I’m going to be tearing up the (incredibly orderly) roads in my 20-year-old BMW. Thank you Mercedes, it’ll be utopia for us all. The trouble is though – even though the semiconductor can drive with one hand tied behind its back – I just don’t see it happening in a hurry. So, it looks like I’ll just have to stick to counting slowly to 10 and taking deep breaths for the moment… Sigh!