The Ford Evos Concept will appear at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show but Ford decided to give its impressive new concept an exclusive preview launch in Berlin this week. The sedan-coupe model, described by Ford as a fastback, had us swept off our feet. Digesting the kind of information released in these sorts of events is not easy but make no mistake - Ford means business with the Evos.
Not all aspects of the Evos Concept will make it to production, like the stunning doors for example, but the company describes this concept as its new global design language and we understand it possibly foreshadows some of what we might see on the new Ford Mondeo. The Evos Concept has a plug-in hybrid powertrain and new intuitive technologies to explore driver-oriented experiences.
Ford has been incredibly forward-thinking with this concept, designing it for future generations of drivers who are now currently 15 or 16 years old and are “digital natives” - that is people who have integrated technology and social networking into their lives seamlessly, with no disconnection between real and virtual realities. That makes this writer already over the hill for the Evos, but its innovative system is defined as a “cloud-connected lifestyle”. So how does it all work in the “real world”?
The onboard technologies memorise data on a server in information which can then be recalled to provide info on daily movements, appointments, weather, traffic and directions taken - even music which was being listened to in the house can now be continued in the car. When people who are attached to their vehicles feel like their car has got a soul, the Ford Evos takes things to a whole new level.
The car can effectively “get to know” its owner. Aside from the infotainment aspect of things, let’s say a husband and wife team drive the Evos. To revert stereotypes for a second, let us suppose the husband takes the kids to school, one of who suffers from car sickness, and the wife likes a sporty drive on the weekends to visit her friends. The Evos’ onboard intuitive technology system would actually be capable of detecting the driver and restoring suspension and drive settings, seat position or favourite music choices accordingly.
What Ford has done with the Evos is nothing short of turning our concept of driving experience and onboard entertainment on its head. The Evos concept goes from installing screens in the rear seats (remember they were doing this on aeroplanes years ago) to actually providing a lifestyle driving experience where how we use our cars becomes part of how we live our lives. It’s not just about getting from A to B but having a car that continues our personality and lifestyle and puts that into driving and going places in comfort and safety.
The Ford Evos Concept is a kind of cross between car, computer and robot considering that it would be capable of checking garage locks once parked, changing the waking-up alarm of a driver if an appointment is cancelled or even automatically updating the social networking status of the whereabouts of the owner. Ford wants to provide all of that, but still in a package that recognises that driving pleasure is the number one business of an automaker.
The philosophy Ford has pursued is to take that driving pleasure and enhance it. Like the revolution of the Smartphone in telephone use, the Ford Evos Concept is making the car part of your life. While the main purpose is still to get somewhere, Ford has decided that’s a limiting definition of how to use a car as the drive should be about what happens and how the driver feels between points A and B.
