There was some hoopla last month about how the future date from “Back to the Future II” had finally come and gone, and while a lot of things from the film proved prophetic in terms of the actual future, there were quite a few aspects that the filmmakers got wrong. Flying cars, for example, are no more real today than they were 30 years ago when the film originally debuted.
Despite that, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t seriously futuristic ideas floating around out there, as anybody who has ever been to an auto show can attest. The Mercedes-Benz Vision Tokyo Concept, which debuted in October at the Tokyo Auto Show, is one such modernized innovation that tackles a segment of autos that generations of consumers have dubbed as rather conservative: the minivan.
All it takes is one look at the exterior of this particular Mercedes-Benz van concept to know that it is anything but conservative. Outside it literally looks like a silver bullet on wheels, with a digital grille that lights up to the beat of music and a sleek look that would put it right at home in Marty McFly’s future universe.
Inside, though, is where the party resides, with a wraparound couch replacing the standard rows of seats, and several interactive infotainment options for the folks enjoying the ride, which just so happens to be piloted autonomously.
As your Mercedes-Benz dealer serving Winter Haven, we can say from years of experience that this high-concept auto is millions of miles away from even production consideration, but it does give a nice glimpse into the future, not only for minivans but for autonomous-driving automobiles. Even if this “Vision” doesn’t come to fruition, we love the design and certainly hope that self-driving minivans will be this lavish and effortless in the future.
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