One way for an auto manufacturer to get out of a scandal?
Drive so far into the future with technology that even the most-harsh critics are left smiling and excited about your future.
That's exactly what Volkswagen managed to accomplish — for at least one day — debuting its BUDD-e concept electric vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel on Tuesday night to an almost awestruck response from the packed media in attendance.
The long-distance electric car, touting an estimated range of 233 miles and able to charge to 80 percent in just 30 minutes, boasts technologies so far into the future that one can't help but think that Volkswagen will emerge out of its emissions crisis OK with time.
The BUDD-e concept's jaw-dropping technologies and features include everything from doors that open by simple hand gestures or voice-activated commands in an experience which Volkswagen chairman, Dr. Herbert Diess, called the automaker's first Internet of Things (IoT) vehicle, as one that "thinks, learns, understands us" and is "really a buddy."
In fact, the BUDD-e is optimized for groups of friends traveling together, with VW even encouraging each passenger to bring his or her own tablet, personalized to their favorite images, music, and videos. From there, the BUDD-e's technology merges all their content onto one common rear monitor screen, forcing friends to socialize in a joint experience, instead of each individual staring at their smartphone in awkward road-trip silence.
But that's just the beginning ...
VW pushed the envelope on the BUDD-e's connectivity by striking partnerships with LG and DoorBird to make the intuitive concept car a smart home on wheels.
Say if you're hosting a Super Bowl party and want to make sure you have enough drinks in the refrigerator. LG's smart home technology, embedded into the BUDD-e's interface, allows the driver to check on his or her stock of drinks within the smart fridge with just a tap on the car's infotainment screen.
Taking that a step further, DoorBird's technology allows for video of your friends ringing your doorbell to be zapped onto the BUDD-e's infotainment screen, as you'll even be able to open your home's door from your car, allowing them to sit down and have a drink before you get there and join them.
And about the inside of the vehicle, Diess wasn't out of line to call it the "cockpit of the future," as it resembles the interior of a luxury yacht more than a VW to be honest.
If all that wasn't enough, as a kicker, Diess showed that the bumper is able to fully extend outward and keep a hidden area, perfect for a mailman's parcel delivery.
Diess called the BUDD-e the "new definition of man's best friend. That's what the car of the future looks like."
The well-connected car of the future, that is.
