瞄準中國80后的自動駕駛汽車:揭秘雪佛蘭上海車展最新概念車
????在一棟深藏于加州芳泉谷,毫不起眼的辦公樓里,一群設計師、工程師和技師已秘密奮戰了好幾個月,這個項目可以讓我們一窺15年后的駕駛方式。這個外形猶如機庫的工作室屬于GFMI Metalcrafters公司。多年來,這家公司已打造了多款在車展上閃亮登場的重磅概念車。在這間必須輸入密碼才能進入的工作室里,這些團隊全身心地投入工作,組裝了一輛遠遠超越時代的汽車。正因為太先進,它所需的一些技術和材料迄今還沒有問世。 ????這款名為雪佛蘭FNR的車型,可能是雪佛蘭迄今為止最不同尋常的概念車,也是其母公司通用汽車真正擲地有聲的力作。這款全自動(即自動駕駛)電動車,是泛亞汽車技術中心研發的成果之一。這個中心是通用汽車和上汽集團的合資企業。這既是一款專為中國年輕人群市場開發的家用轎車,也是一個技術及娛樂解決方案。比起汽車來,這群消費者通常對智能手機更感興趣。在周一開幕的2015年上海車展上,雪佛蘭揭開了FNR(這三個字母意為“找尋新路”,是該品牌的口號)的神秘面紗。在其首次亮相前的準備階段,《財富》雜志有幸率先一窺這款概念車的真容。 ????雪佛蘭希望FNR能吸引全球而不僅僅是中國的80后、90后。它將語音助手Siri、BFF技術和運動腕帶Fitbit等多重功能集于一身。雪佛蘭中國銷售兼營銷總監莎倫?西稱:“無論身在何處,我們的時間總是緊巴巴的——通勤時間、工作時間及與家人相處的時間。這正是啟發我們開發這款車的因素之一。”與當前自動駕駛汽車開發的潮流有所不同,雪佛蘭預計FNR將屬于大眾市場。通用汽車預計,到2030年——這也是FNR假設的車型年——自動駕駛技術將能夠賺錢,成本將大幅降低,并成為真正的家用車。通用的高管還認為,在像中國這樣的發展中國家,自動駕駛汽車尤其有機會獲得大發展,因為這類國家的城市和道路很快就將變得擁擠不堪,政府十分希望破解擁堵難題,同時還有大量基礎設施有待建設。 ????莎倫?西表示:“在中國,設計實在是太重要了,”而FNR的外形恰恰展現出一種充滿未來感的肌肉車風范。位于巨大的無輪轂車輪中的電動機是動力來源(在充分開發完成后,這一特有的創新成果即可使用)。FNR凹凸有致的外殼由碳纖維一類材質構成,以減輕車重,特別設計的進氣口讓整個車身平添幾分動感,也提高了空氣動力學性能。兩邊各自打開的雙鍘刀車門遠望猶如盛開的蓮花。點睛之筆是:上千盞LED燈點綴全車,讓它周身散發出明亮的藍光,這是泛亞中心高級汽車設計師曹明(音譯)和他的團隊對上海名揚全球的夜景燈光秀的禮贊。 ????另一方面,車內布局則給人這樣一種感覺:如果用戶自主選擇的話,駕駛本身將會被拋在腦后。乘坐者可以舒服地躺在FNR的電動網狀座椅上,盡情享受旅程。這種座椅可以讀取心率、血壓和情緒狀況,還能調節溫度、速度、燈光,那些想工作或閉目養神的乘坐者甚至可以選擇合適的背景音樂。想調出地圖,投射到超大車頂上,并處理一些電子表格?只需用手在中控臺的手勢控制水晶球上一劃,就能變換顯示內容。當然,這是假設車主完全置身車內才行。通用汽車全球產品開發執行副總裁馬克?羅伊斯聲稱,FNR將“在你工作時為你處理瑣事,或是自己開到經銷商那里維修,為車主省事。” |
????Tucked away in a nondescript commercial building in Fountain Valley, Calif., dozens of designers, engineers, and craftsmen have toiled secretively for months on a project that offers a glimpse of the way we may be driving 15 years from now. Their hangar-like workspace belongs to GFMI Metalcrafters, a company that for decades has built many of the most important concept cars to hit the auto show circuit. Laboring furiously in its password-protected workrooms, these teams have been assembling a car so far ahead of its time that some of the technologies and materials it requires don’t exist yet. ????Meet the Chevrolet-FNR, perhaps Chevy’s most unusual concept car to date, and a stake-in-the-ground statement from Chevy’s parent, General Motors.The FNR is a fully autonomous—that is, self-driving—electric vehicle, developed as part of PATAC, a joint venture of GM and Chinese automaker SAIC Motors. It’s a family-sedan-cum-techno-infotainment solution aimed squarely at China’s youth market, consumers who characteristically respond better to smartphones than sheet metal. Chevy unveiled the FNR (it stands for “Find New Roads,” the brand’s tagline) on Monday at the 2015 Shanghai motor show; Fortune got a sneak peak at the vehicle as it prepared for its debut. ????Chevy hopes that the FNR will hook millennials, not just in China but worldwide, with the promise of a vehicle that will be part Siri, part BFF, and part Fitbit. “Everywhere in the world our time is constrained—commute time, work time, family time,” says Sharon Nishi, head of sales and marketing for Chevy’s operations in China. “Those are some of the things that inspired this car.” And in a departure from current trends in autonomous-vehicle development, Chevy envisions the FNR as a vehicle for the mass market. GM projects that by 2030—the hypothetical model year for the FNR—self-driving technologies will be prolific enough to have become less costly, and therefore feasible for a real-world family car. And its executives think autonomous vehicles have a particularly good chance of proliferating in developing countries like China, where cities and roads are crowding quickly, governments are eager to resolve congestion, and much infrastructure is yet to be built. ????“Design is really important in China,” says Nishi—and appropriately enough, the FNR’s exterior projects futuristic muscle-car attitude. Motors housed in the rims of its massive, hubless wheels will power the car (once that particular innovation is fully developed). The FNR’s sculpted exterior panels are made from composites like carbon fiber to save weight, and designed with air intakes that add drama and aerodynamic flow to the overall shape. Double scissor doors open on each side like lotus blossoms. The crowning touch: Thousands of LED lights swathe the vehicle, illuminating it outside and in with a bright blue light, an ode to Shanghai’s famous evening light shows from PATAC advanced vehicle designer Cao Min and his team. ????The interior, on the other hand, promises that driving itself can be an afterthought, if the user chooses. The FNR would allow occupants to sit back and enjoy the ride in motorized webbed seats that can read everything from heart rate and blood pressure to mood—and adjust temperature, speed, lighting, and even musical selections for those who want to work or sleep. Care to swap out the map projected on the oversized canopy and work on some spreadsheets? Simply swipe your hand over the gesture-controlled crystal ball in the center console to reconfigure the display. Of course, that’s assuming you’re in the car at all. The FNR could “run errands for you while you’re at work, or take itself to the dealer for service so you don’t have to,” says Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president of global product development. |