It is no exaggeration to say that as more and more new cars are flooding into the market, major car companies are also trying their best to equip their new cars with novel configurations in order to make the new cars more attractive. selling point. But are these so-called selling points really useful, or are they just useless gimmicks? How many consumers will pay for these configurations?
Xpeng G3: Roof Camera
Xpeng G3 is currently a model with relatively good product capabilities among the new electric vehicles. However, the camera on the roof of the Xpeng G3 looks like a drone. Although it has earned itself a lot of gimmicks, it does not seem to be of much practical use.
Why do you say that? Although the 360° roof camera equipped on the roof of the Xpeng G3 looks like a drone, it turns out that it is just a black box that can be lifted and lowered, and its function is relatively simple, and it can only take pictures and record videos. Moreover, the response speed of the camera is not sensitive enough. Coupled with the "touching picture quality" of the central control screen in the Xpeng G3 car, there is still room for improvement in practicality in the future.
In addition, the camera on the roof of the Xpeng G3 is not standard on all series, but is optional. Objectively speaking, the 360-degree camera on the roof does bring a certain sense of technology to the appearance of the vehicle, but this configuration may be a bit useless for most users at this stage. Its more important role is to lay the hardware foundation in advance for the subsequent upgrade of autonomous driving technology.
Nezha U: Visualized transparent A-pillar
If you want to say what is the most difficult part in car design, the A-pillar is definitely one of them. The A-pillar of a car must not only ensure the strength of the car body and safety in the cockpit, but also ensure the driver's field of vision. Therefore, the contradiction between having a good vision and strong rigidity has become a difficult problem that many designers need to overcome during the product development stage.
In Nezha U, in order to solve the problem of the blind spot of the A-pillar, the designer integrated two LCD screens on the A-pillar, and transmitted the image to the screen through the camera of the exterior rearview mirror. The effect of transparent A-pillars.
But from a practical point of view, the external camera may be affected by the weather and environment and cannot achieve the best display effect. In addition, will it be hindered by light when used at night? Are there any other disadvantages? These issues need to be verified later. However, objectively speaking, this design not only enhances the sense of technology, but also solves the problem of vision in the blind area of ??the A-pillar to a certain extent. It also makes Nezha U the first mass-produced model to achieve transparent A-pillars.
Of course, if you are a relatively conservative consumer, you don’t have to worry about this configuration becoming a burden on the car, because it is only optional and costs an additional 12,000 yuan. For those car owners who buy electric vehicles just for transportation, just take a look.
NIO ES8: NOMI robot in the car
NIO ES8 should be the first mass-produced model to install a robot robot on the center console of the car. The name is NOMI, which simply means "know me" (know me). It can not only interact with car owners, but also has a variety of emoticons. In terms of functionality, in the car, you can open and close windows, play music, control air conditioning and other functions by calling NOMI, allowing car owners to "move their mouths but never use their hands".
▲NOMI’s emoticon pack
However, compared to many current models with Internet of Vehicles, NIO’s NOMI, although it is personalized enough, is a bit tasteless. Why do you say that? Because almost all other vehicles with Internet of Vehicles functions have the Internet of Vehicles integrated into the central control screen, which takes up no space and has basically the same functionality.
As for the "little robot" in Weilai's car, apart from adding some fun, it doesn't have much meaning. Of course, many NIO car owners are said to have decided to place an order because their children fell in love with the robot when they took them to see the car. From this perspective, the design of this "little robot" is not completely useless.
However, it also has many inevitable problems with voice systems. During the author's previous test drive of the NIO ES8, when the test drive specialist demonstrated the functions of NOMI, the system also experienced lags and was unable to recognize voice commands.
Lincoln: B-pillar password lock
Nowadays, with the rise of Internet-based car manufacturing, there have been many changes in the way of opening car doors, such as smart key sensors, card keys, Bluetooth keys, Bracelet keys, etc.
However, the code lock designed by Lincoln at the B-pillar of the car door is not only a reflection of retro, but also has high practicality. If the car owner forgets to bring the mechanical key and does not have Bluetooth function, it can be opened directly through the code lock on the B-pillar. The doors are very practical.
The B-pillar door combination lock can be said to be the iconic family design of the Lincoln brand, and it can also be regarded as one of the highlights of Lincoln models. Moreover, the configuration of password lock is not only equipped on the flagship SUV Navigator, but also the newly produced Lincoln Adventurer also enjoys this configuration. Although it doesn't look cool enough, its practicality is still worthy of praise.
Final remarks?
In today’s era where individuality is valued, whether it is a transparent A-pillar, a central control “little robot” or a relatively practical combination lock, they all have their meaning. . After all, the birth of any new technology has a process of being recognized, adapted, accustomed and even loved by the public until it can no longer be separated. And the author believes that as the Internet technology configuration continues to expand in car configuration, more and more new gadgets will continue to emerge.
In the current emerging Internet car functional designs, which configurations do you think are purely gimmicks or are very practical? Welcome to leave a message to interact with us.
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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.