CES: Flying Taxis, Electric Cars & Huge Infotainment Screens

A big part of the show floor at CES every year is always monopolized by automakers demonstrating home much tech they can fit into their vehicles. GM, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and many others aren’t letting the lack of a show floor stop them from stealing the show. This year brought flying drone taxis, new electric cars from GM and Cadillac, the next iteration of BMW’s iDrive and a 56-inch infotainment screen. It’s not quite the flying cars that the future promised but it’s still exciting nonetheless. Let’s run down some of the cool concepts and future production vehicles that manufacturers brought to the virtual show.

GM & Cadillac

While it’s more similar to a giant drone than a flying car, GM’s Cadillac eVTOL (electric vehicle take off and landing) concept gives a peak at a possible future method of travel. It isn’t so much designed to park in your driveway as it is to take you from rooftop to rooftop. Relying on electric motors and a 90-kwh battery the vehicle can sail the skies at around 56 mph. It won’t be ideal for your daily commute, but might help you get to that meeting across town super quick with no traffic aside from the birds.

Aside from its eVTOL concept, GM had a bevy of electric cars to talk about and preview. Cadillac showed off the Lyriq which will be available in 2022 and previewed the Celestiq which is targeted for 2025. Powering these new vehicles is GM’s new Ultium Battery System, a brand new modular system that is the future of all of GM’s electric plans. This new system can power vehicles for up to a 400 mile range and drive front, rear and all wheel drive vehicles. With their innovative new battery system in hand, GM is poised to bring a whole fleet of electric vehicles over the next few years. Below is a sneak peak with the new GMC Hummer EV front and center, flanked by the Cadillac Celestiq and Lyriq. Also in the shadows is an electric truck and a few unidentified SUVs, the future is definitely electric for GM and all its brands.

Read more about the new Ultium Battery System over at GM

Mercedes-Benz

While they didn’t show off the upcoming EQS Luxury Sedan but they did show off the Hyperscreen which is the centerpiece of the second generation MBUX “Mercedes-Benz User Experience. This 56-inch screen is actually multiple touchscreens all built into one solid piece of glass that spans the entire dash. The three main areas of the Hyperscreen are the instrument cluster, center infotainment console and a passenger facing screen. MBUX uses what Mercedes calls “zero layer” so you don’t have to scroll through endless menus or learn voice commands. It utilizes AI learning to know what apps and setting you use most and presents them when needed, even the passenger get their own custom area. With this amazing technology in the dash it will be exciting to see what other tech they put in the next generation EQS sedan.

Read more @ Mercedes-Benz

BMW

Over at BMW they are trying to reinvent the wheel again, at least the wheel that is at the center of their iDrive system. This year marks 20 years since its introduction and the new iDrive is a revolution that has an AI assistant that you actually give a name to. BMW says its about bridging the gap between the car and the driver to create and emotional connection with the car. They actually partnered with internet personalities iJustine, Supercar Blondie and a roll reversed interview with iDrive. Along with these videos BMW also produced a short film that saw the new BMW iX meet and an old BMW 7 Series and shenanigans ensue.

Head over to BMW’s CES hub for some more videos about the new iDrive

More To Come…

Thats just a few tidbits from what the automakers showed off this week at this virtual CES. Look for a part 2 coming soon for more tech for your car to keep you in your little bubble and entertained while on the road.