The car of the future will use cameras embedded inside the vehicle to see who is sitting inside, then use that information to serve up carefully crafted advertisements in partnership with big businesses.
It is expected to suggest stopping for a Happy Meal after picking up the kids from school, and leverage the “power of persuasion” to persuade people to spend money on games, apps and digital customizations of new vehicles.
Ford recently made headlines when it took the patent For in-car advertising, that included the ability to listen to passengers and tailor content based on their conversations.
This includes the ability to “understand a user’s tolerance for the number of times a particular ad is played”, or in other words, the ability to listen to people who say “If I hear one more ad from this petrol company, I will buy 10 litres from their arch rival and use it to set this car on fire!”
This is not imagination.
Tal Krzypov, a strategist at in-car tech company Sepia, told us that in-car camera systems, such as the driver distraction cameras that caused headaches for brands like Mitsubishi, will almost certainly be used for commercial purposes.
“This coincides very well with another trend, and that is what we see [manufacturers] who are looking for new revenue sources,” he said.
“Let’s say you’re on a road trip from Sydney to Melbourne right now and you have your wife and kids with you.
“First of all it can personalise the experience, set the right temperature level, because when you're with kids preferences change, don't they? The same goes for playlists.”
Yes, your car can shift automatically rage against the machine For The Wiggles If the little ears are on board.
Other elements may be more controversial.
“If it knows it's afternoon and you still have a long way to go, and one of your favorite restaurants is on the way, it can proactively ask you, 'Hey, do you want your favorite meal? And the kids?'
“Do you need a restroom? Do you want to use facial recognition to authenticate payments?”
“Suddenly you can bring a number of services and products into the cabin that are really beneficial, but it depends on the understanding and context of what’s going on inside the cabin.
“There’s still a lot of time left, so we have time to prepare.”
Krizpaw says that just as phones have jumped from simple devices for making calls and text messages to digital machines with dozens of paid apps, car companies are making the same leap.
Nissan is preparing to launch such cars New Petrol 4WD With the Google operating system, which allows customers to use the Google Play Store to purchase apps.
The carmaker says this is a way to “enhance investment opportunities” while improving customer engagement.
BMW customers can now play the Uno card game in select models, provided they pay $10 per month to subscribe to BMW's Digital Premium service.
This is the same amount Tesla charges for premium connectivity — which unlocks the ability to pay more to subscribe to things like Spotify or Netflix in the car if it costs more.
Mercedes has an Excellence package that adds 22 additional features, including vehicle tracking and the ability to send temporary digital keys to friends' phones, costing about $500 a year.
We recently attended the launch of Smart in Australia,
Its cars have cute little animal avatars as digital assistants.
Overseas customers can use real money to customize their animal — possibly by choosing a different character, and even buying them pixelated accessories like cute hats.
It's a lot like Fortnite or Robloc.
Smart designer Kai Sieber said the cars vary between markets.
“In China they want a different animal every day, but in Germany they say we don't need that,” he said.
The BMW X5 car features a clever multi-mode suspension.
But if you want to use it, you will have to pay $29 per month or $290 per year in Australia.
In the US, Kia has limited the power of the new EV9 – you'll need to pay around $1400 to access boost mode to reach the car's full potential.
US website Motor Trend He tested everything he could find in Kia's touchscreen, including a boost mode, new patterns for the intricate exterior lights, and an NBA-inspired interior color theme.
It cost him $2,700.
And this is just the beginning.
