G1 Google Phone Designers Reinvent The Automobile

@thatsMisterPotatoHeadtoyou: speaking of penis...

Theres nothing wrong with the idea of a mobile-automated lounge that whisks you to your destination. I'm a car guy, and I'd love to have that.

but...

not. this. shopping cart wheels and no suspension will make the ride as pleasant as skateboarding down a rocky hill - sitting down.

Uninspired much? Any industrial designer could've made this in an afternoon in Rhino.

Theres no reason it has to look fast - but why not beautiful? Its not a particularly aero shape so that excuse doesnt fly here. Theres no privacy, and id hate to think what happens when the system crashes - and you crash. Prepare to spend a month in the hospital getting glass taken out of you.

JonZeke

@roflwaffles is terribly unfunny: maybe the case most of the time

this seems to be more of a case of pushing boundaries of conventional thinking, attempting to visualize the future generations of transportation as a teaser to technologies that aren't developed or maybe even possible yet...sort of like the entire premise behind the gadgets of star trek - concepts are not always intended to be realistic

that being said, this is pretty much a different twist to an automated vehicle platform that has been around for ages

@Brenny:
That and hundreds of another "distant future where you don't need to drive cars" car concepts, quite frankly.

Nothing against them being the Google Phone Designers, but this is nothing new, and even the flying car concept is closer to reality than this.

Also, this isn't much different than a sofa in a glass box with wheels.

And then there's some: Small shopping cart wheels will require really smooth roads, so it doesn't become a bump-crash ride.
If you crash into something, you'll end up with shattered glass shards in body parts you didn't know you had.

Yes, I'm being mean here... the source page has lots of explanations and stuff about the car which are pretty good.. but it just feels that the car was created by gadged designers that has absolutely no experience in car design.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

@Hello Mister Walrus: and then a virus is created based upon government specs to give one random vehicle every 1^2 miles overriding permissions.

That is error proof, but it is tamper proof. You have to remove all human interaction.

tagno25

@Raziel66: Can you fly a plane? Yes, but not land
Handle a train? Easy, as long as I am only going 5mph
Captain a ship? Simple, but I have not tried with more than a 4 man boat.
Control an automated monorail system? Not possible, because it is automated!

tagno25

@The Analrapist: No, he wants one with ATMOS(Atmospheric Omission System)

tagno25

@Brenny: I remember hoping that our roads would become like that.. no more traffic! no more driving in traffic! sigh..

Although I would miss driving myself sometimes.. but Tom Cruise seemed to get an Audi from somewhere and drive that on separate roads.. what was going on there?

I've seen this before. It's called A BUS!

I hate busses, especially the part where you sit sideways to the direction of travel. If I have to use a bus, I'll pick a seat that faces forward or just put a leg up on the bench and fake it.

ITIL_Prince

I guess they don't like to drive.

qrius

Awesome, i always wanted a car not made for going places.

@thatsMisterPotatoHeadtoyou:
Actually, a strech hummer would be far more efficient than any smart car or prius, when you factor the number of people transported.

@stupid jerk:
People who know who they're doing /= Detroit.
Except ford, fuck yeah ford, outselling Toyota.

@stupid jerk:
So that realistic ideas can be tested?

@alexvanduyn: The car has sensors inside which detect when passengers are getting busy, and tints the windows accordingly.

s73v3r

@imdstig: Wouldn't you want a car that exploded or sank after driving into a lake or slim jim factory

finally, a car that removes the stigma of being a drunk driver.

@stupid jerk: Usually elements of concepts make it into production cars, but this thing is particularly unrealistic.

awesome i really want this. i like my cars too, but commuting in a 9000rpm convertible every day that buzzes at 4500rpm on the freeway gets on your nerves sometimes

wilcheung

shouldn't they concentrate on making a phone that doesn't look ugly as sin first? :\

bigfatduck

make it legal to sip a martini while it takes you to the next bar, and suddenly a market will appear.

wbrproductions

Well, this is ridiculous.

brundlefly76

are you all kidding me right now? of course we're not going to throw a glass box on the highway and tell you to take a nap in it!!!! This idea is about re-thinking the whole transportation system!! You guys are friggin idiots, I really can't believe the flood of negative comments. This thing is badass, screw y'all!

OK so we have huge windows, slow speed, a lack of passenger control and (presumably) wealthy occupants...

This vehicle has been perfectly designed to attract children and/or angry adults with rocks and/or molotov cocktails to pelt.

burntbread

@EncNone: yeah! I want a stretch hummer with a bowling alley and its own microbrewery inside, that can do 0 to 60 in 4 seconds! Fuck the environment! I'm a real goddamm american! With the smallest penis ever.

@commentotron: cuz the designers in detroit are pumping out top selling designs by the hour, right?

@OMG! Ponies!: Yeah... maybe the G1 designers should stick to... hummm, dunno... PHONES!

aec007

@uncdomination: you should learn about why concept cars are built/conceived

Ever heard of public transit? This is just like a personal pan pizza version of a city bus.

guineapirate

Tint the windows and let there be manual control and we might be in business.

ircmaster

@Geisrud:

Hey, don't knock a "slow" government. I wish the current one was acting ALOT slower.

If you could ride in a car while getting dressed and watching TV, I wouldn't complain about doubling my drive to work.

Put a mini fridge in there and let me drink a cold one on the way home from work and I wouldn't care about a long drive home either.

Lots of cars smart enough to know where the other cars are that drive by themselves have the potential to kill a large amount of traffic during rush hour. All you neigh sayers will be telling kids to get off your lawn while we all enjoy our commute for once.

I need more than a side impact couch before I pull out into traffic. Great golf cart design, though.

Kajo

Sign me up. I HATE having to pay attention to where I go when I drive. But mass transportation is so inefficient, especially where I live. Anything that gives me time back is win.

The Catt

@Justinpaulson: But eventually, it is possible to have a virtually error-proof automated traffic system. It will never be possible to have perfect human drivers.

Hello Mister Walrus

Cool. I have read about other designs that are very similar. It would basically be like a train ride, but without the need to interact with other humans. Excellent idea.

@alexvanduyn: If you blow enough steam on them.

TurboTexas

This concept is nothing new, people have been talking about people just riding in cars and the car doing all the driving while the passengers play with the stereo for years. Call me when you come up with something original. Oh, and the G1 Phone is fugly too.

billc124

@Raziel66: It really all depends on the system that is used to implement these autonomous cars. Machines/Computers are not error-proof when they are running software written by humans.

@imdstig: well that sucks.

tenazrael

Just stop it!!! STOP IT!!

MissingPieces

@unibrow4o9: Can you fly a plane? Handle a train? Captain a ship? Control an automated monorail system?

People ride in vehicles they can't control all the time. A car would be no different and would actually make the roads safer.

Raziel66

@jjswee: This is fine until you realize it's these same navigation databases that have lead people to nearly driving off cliffs. Imagine if it weren't an idiot at the wheel and instead an uncontrollable robot? With no reset switch.

@pablos1: If a 20 minute commute could also double as 20 more minutes of sleep, I'm all in!

gerrylum

@monoverb: +1 for the Rush Reference.

@Brenny: you don't see the lady dry humping it?

LEWD98

How far away is THE MOTOR LAW?

monoverb

@unibrow4o9: People used to be terrified of riding elevators. This is more or less the same thing. I can imagine people in autonomous cars in 70 years or so. Or at least partially autonomous cars that will drive you around a parking lot, etc.

Hello Mister Walrus

Interesting choice that, not only can you not drive, you also can't see forward OR back, only sideways.

Giant window on the side is designed for maximum solar heating (nice in winter, awful in summer), minimum safety and minimum privacy (but I suppose we have to expect that from a Google team).

The idea of a car designed to drive autonomously is interesting, but not new, and this seems like a terrible take on it.

jdale

@Twoje: What twoje said. I've been saying this for years and everyone thinks I am crazy. Have every car connect through wifi and announce when there are other cars merging. Cars down the road will make space and no one will slow down. Imagine a 30 mile commute during 'rush hour' actually taking 30 minutes!

jjswee

@BPL5683: +1 just because it has the governator in it.

Love it! I look forward to the day I have my own personal robot chauffeur so I can just grab a nap or read a book in the back until I reach my destination.

the facetious feline

@OMG! Ponies!: Slow, can't be controlled...are we talking about this car or the US Government?

What would REALLY be nice is a "car/suv" which is constructed by "docking" two motorcycles-like transport in parallel.

The "car" compartment is large enough to seat 4. Each motorcycle powerful enough to carry two.

Somebody already came up with that.....[1.bp.blogspot.com]

Wow that is the ugliest, most horribly inefficient, most unsafe piece of crap I have ever seen on 4 wheels.

The picture on this page makes it look like a shower and bathtub on wheels.

These designers suck. No wonder the G1 is so ugly.

M3tALHaz3

@Greg Lloyd: Parliament.

I just can't seem to get to the right.

why does the future always look so 60s?

Joshua Levy

So it's like the donkey and cart of the future.

Looks like a fucking bathtub deathtrap on wheels. I'll pass on the "future" car.

@imdstig: Wait, dont you want her to get lost if shes about to be the ex wife?

This seems like it would be a better design for a monorail than for a car.

Hello Mister Walrus

@unibrow4o9: I think I'd feel safer. I think I'd feel much safer having robots control our freeways than humans. There are so many stupid, irresponsible drivers out there it makes me sick. If only robots drove around, we wouldn't have drunk drivers, road rage, even TRAFFIC would probably be a lot better.

Twoje

PS Reinvent the automobile or redesign the winnebago?

Look kids, Big Ben!

Greg Lloyd

wtf is that?

this is the OPPOSITE of what i want.

now i'm a big fan of the way the g1 looked,but this is terrible.

OMG ponies hit the nail on the head, i mean WHY is it that Americans can be suckered so easily?

there needs to be a demand for real engines, real design and real usability.

i mean honestly, i see prius and smart cars on a DAILY basis and it makes me sick.

EncNone

Bwhahahahahaha. Nice deathtrap there. Hey, "designers" of white slabs and boxes: leave automotive design to people who know wtf they're doing.

commentotron

This design sucks. Keep your day job.

I can't imagine our car-crazy culture going for such a big change in how we get around, but this seems just right for urban environments where traffic prevents us from moving at any type of real speed anyways.

New to the city is ya?

Kaiser-Machead

Do want. If my car were an extension of my living room, it doesn't much matter if I've added 20 minutes to my commute.

pablos1

But is there room enough for sex? And do the windows shade?

It's slow, can't be controlled, and runs on solar power! Americans will LOVE it!!

I'm not sure I'd be really into riding a vehicle that under no circumstance I could control...

unibrow4o9

Awesome, another concept car that will never go into production!!

uncdomination

Perfect for my soon to be ex wife. She is afraid of getting lost even with a Nav unit.

imdstig

Also, if it's the designers of the G1... where's the chin?

Brenny

Reminds me a bit of Minority Report.

Brenny