Car Entertainment at 150 mph

After viewing the latest in car technology at  CES we wanted to give members of the car audio industry a wider picture of what will happen to cars and the retailers that service them over the next 20 years.

According to a former executive at General Motors, by 2030, many cars on the road will be “modules” that drive themselves, that you summon for brief use, then exit when you reach your destination. There will be fleets of these modules owned by the likes of Uber, Lyft, Amazon and others.

The executive, Bob Lutz, former GM head of product development, said this of the self-driving module.  “On the freeway, it will merge seamlessly into a stream of other modules traveling at 120, 150 mph. The speed doesn’t matter. You have a blending of rail-type with individual transportation….Then, as you approach your exit, your module will enter deceleration lanes, exit and go to your final destination.” Then the car will head to its next customer and you will be billed for your ride, as explained in Automotive News.

Sales of sedans will be cut in half by 2030, as consumers will no longer need the second car for short trips. They’ll simply summon cars from Uber or Lyft or the like.  General Motors already has a $500 million ownership stake in Lyft and Ford is also working with Lyft.

Eventually, only a minority of people will actually own a car, believes Lutz.  And then at some point, be it 20 years from now, it will be illegal for a human to drive on a highway.  The tipping point will be when 20 to 30 percent of the cars on the road are self-driving, he said.

“Countries will look at the accident statistics and figure out that human drivers are causing 99.9 percent of the accidents….Everyone will have five years to get their car off the road …” he wrote.

Car dealerships will become “micro dealers” that sell transportation as much as cars, mainly digitally, with less need for salesmen, according to another Automotive News story.

There will still be car customization in the future.  When you summon a car, (as you do now for Uber), you might be able to specify whether you would like a basic model or one with computers or a concert-grade sound system or overlarge TV screen.  Or you might want a car with a refrigerator, says Automotive News.  The styling of the module won’t matter, but some riders will pay extra for the entertainment and electronics in the car.

Intel and Warner are already working on certain entertainment themed vehicles that use augmented and virtual reality.

Rinspeed recently unveiled its version of car “pods” as shown above. Its concept includes three different video screens for each passenger.   Harman showed off entertainment systems for Rinspeed at CES. Toyota won a Best of CES award for its modular autonomous car concept.

Detroit News columnist Phil Berg wrote a piece called “Cars Could be the Entertainment Centers of the Future.” He said of the recent LA Auto Show, “I got the sense self-driving cars are now seen as potential interactive rolling movie theaters and gaming arenas…”

So what about retailers?  Lutz says car dealerships will shrink to a few that serve those who want personalized modules or who collect cars.  There will still be areas where enthusiasts can drive, but they won’t be on highways.

Automobiles in 20 years, will be about self-driving fleets. It would make sense then, that a forward thinking car audio retailer, would start focusing part of his business on working with fleets of some sort. That might even be a goal for 2018?