Hello, my dears!
Well – this month has been rife with excitement, hasn't it? What started with a slightly dull, very sensible post about road safety quickly escalated into something else entirely! Last week, we discussed new ergonomic seating and dashboards for Ford Transit vans, and THIS week...well, this week, we'll be discussing something even MORE exciting. This week, we'll be taking a look at the van of the future!
That's right, you read that correctly: the van of the future. Or at least the van of the future as imagined by Mercedes. Those wacky Germans have made a list of features they think courier and delivery vans will look like in a few years, so I thought I'd take a moment to read up on what that consists of, so I could share it with you all.
The Future is (Nearly) Here
So, what DOES this super-futuristic van look like? Well, if you're thinking the flying Jetson's car, not quite. I know that's what comes to mind whenever you put 'of the future' in front of anything having to do with cars, but the changes here are a lot more subtle and harder to notice than that. No wings or rocket engines, I'm afraid!
Instead, what we do have are roof-mounted drones (which I suppose does come close to the flying car idea), automated cargo bays (I know a LOT of you will be drooling over this, if Stevie's reaction is anything to go by), an electric battery instead of fuel, route-planning computer programs (another one that probably has a few people excited), and joystick control for some functions. That last one is a little too much like a videogame for my liking, but I suppose it will have its fans among people who are actual couriers, and not just service-area cafe owners.
Before you head out to trade your old van in for one of these beauties, though, it's important to note that a lot of these innovations won't be available for a while yet. Many are still in development, and won't even make it to the market any time soon at all. So curb your enthusiasm about the van of the future,because for now, all you can do is look at the pretty pictures.
Still, one can dream, can't they?
Ta-ra!
- Gertie
x
