????當一輛梅塞德斯奔馳公司出品的自動駕駛汽車載著我和其他幾個乘客繞著一座廢棄的空軍機場疾馳時，我的心里還是直打鼓。沒有人在盯著路況。

????一臺電腦靈活地操縱著汽車行駛上平坦的環道上。我猜想，如果有另一輛車斜插到我們前面的話，它大概會自動減速停車。事實上，這條路已經被封閉了。但我還是覺得很緊張，尤其是當這輛奔馳的司機和我一起，干了一件坐在普通汽車時根本無法想象的事——我們把座椅轉了個方向，面向車尾。

????我還是禁不住偶爾回頭望望，觀察一下前面的路況。

????歡迎來到未來——至少在奔馳公司和它充滿未來氣質的技術團隊看來，這樣一輛頗具科幻色彩的汽車應該代表了2030年的汽車應有的樣子。這款汽車的駕駛艙非常豪華，配備了各種觸摸屏，以及一臺永不疲倦的自動駕駛儀。

????奔馳試圖通過這款汽車來顯示，該公司擁有在未來取得成功所需的技術實力。除了奔馳之外，奧迪、日產、福特等老牌汽車廠商，乃至谷歌和特斯拉等新進者，都在全力開發新一代的自動駕駛汽車，有些車型甚至與傳統車輛有著完全不同的設計。

????本周二，奔馳公司邀請20余名記者試乘電動版原型車F 015。今年早些時候，奔馳已經在拉斯維加斯CES消費電子展上公開了它的外觀設計。但到目前為止，能夠有幸乘坐這款車型的外人仍屈指可數。當然，這款車型具有令人難以置信的圓潤和金屬感，這些顯然都是科幻作品中不可缺少的汽車設計元素。車身瘦長，再加上長度異乎尋常的軸距，為車子內部營造了更大的乘坐空間。

????負責設計制造這款車型的奔馳工程師彼得?萊曼啟動了本次試駕活動。他通過一個智能手機應用將車子從附近一座模擬車庫中“召喚”出來——這個假車庫是為本次活動而在前阿拉梅達海軍航空兵基地（位于舊金山灣區對面）專門搭建的。當我們湊上前去時，汽車中傳來一個女性聲音：“請您繼續走。”這表示，此時繼續從車頭前方穿行是安全的。

????通過傳感器，車子探測到了我們的存在，然后緩緩地自動打開了四扇門。很快我就坐進了奢華舒適的白色皮革座椅中，它的設計讓我想起了飛機的頭等艙。（看來錢在未來應該不是個問題——至少奔馳公司是這樣想的。）

????隨著雷曼坐進“引導員”的座位，我在精神上已經做好了試乘準備。結果會不會變得很尷尬？我甚至做好了可能撞車的準備。不過他們此前肯定已經嚴格地測試過這套系統了，對吧？

????I felt a bit uneasy as a Mercedes-Benz self-driving car chauffeured me and my fellow passengers around an abandoned military airfield. No one was watching the road.

????A computer ably steered the car around in gentle loops and, presumably, would have stopped if another car careened in our path. (In fact, the tarmac was closed to traffic.) But I felt unnerved, particularly after the Mercedes “driver” and I did what would be unthinkable in a normal car: We swiveled our seats to face backwards.

????I couldn’t help myself from occasionally looking over my shoulder to check what lay ahead.

????Welcome to the future, at least as envisioned by Mercedes and its team of futurists who have built a sci-fi car that is intended to reflect what driving will be like in 2030. What they came up with was a plush cabin filled with touch screens and an autopilot who never tires.

????Mercedes is trying to show that it has the tech know-how to succeed in the future. Rival automakers like Audi, Nissan, and Ford, along with interlopers like Google and Tesla, are all pushing the envelope as they experiment with a new generation of vehicles that operate autonomously and, in some cases, have radically different designs.

????On Tuesday, Mercedes invited a couple dozen other journalists to ride in its electric prototype, the F 015. The German automaker had premiered the design at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, but had yet to let more than a just handful of outsiders hitch a ride. The car, of course, is impossibly sleek and metallic, an apparent requirement for visionary car designs. The body is elongated with the wheels spaced unusually far apart to allow for more room inside the cabin.

????The ride started with Peter Lehmann, the Mercedes engineer who helped create the car, tapping a smartphone app to summon the vehicle from a pseudo-garage nearby that was built for the occasion at the former Alameda Naval Air Station, located across the bay from San Francisco. The car woke from its nap and made a slow arc to where we were waiting. As we approached, a female’s voice rang out from the car to say “Please go ahead,” a signal that it was safe to pass in front.

????Using sensors, the car had detected that we were nearby and automatically started slowly opening the car’s four bay doors. I soon found myself sitting in a luxurious and comfortable white leather seat reminiscent of the style found in airline cockpits. (Money will be of no object in the future, at least in Mercedes’ vision.)

????With Lehmann in the “conductor’s” chair, I prepared mentally for the ride. Would it feel odd? Of course, I considered the possibility of a crash. But they’ve rigorously tested the system, right?