I rode my bike everywhere this summer. A car would have made grocery trips, hill climbs, and city visits much easier than they were, but the responsibilities of gas, parking, and maintenance outweighed the benefits.
In five years, though, if I have to choose between a car and a bike once again, my decision may be completely different. An autonomous car, one that is literally around the corner, would allow me to forego the responsibilities of car ownership while keeping the convenience of having one. The autonomous capabilities of that car would also allow me to read or sleep, ride to and from work with others who share my schedule, and visit local tourist attractions with like-minded people.
Lexicon’s Think-Tank was an opportunity to explore these possibilities and to map out a world that doesn’t yet exist but soon may. For example, Ford wants autonomous cars on the road in the next five years. But getting these cars on the road is just the first step, and this project was meant to explore what could happen next. How will car interiors, exteriors, and insurance companies transform? How will societies transition from people-driven cars to self-driven ones? Are the cars we know today destined to be only relics of the past?
The past ten weeks have given Lexicon’s summer interns an opportunity to pull on their individual experiences and the knowledge they gained this summer in order to brainstorm possible answers to these questions. This blog is the result of conversations and creative sessions, emails and edits, posts and puns.
Our vision of the future may turn out different from reality, but, by developing our own ideas, we hope to inspire others’ creativity and improve their understanding of the future of autonomous vehicles and automotive branding. That way, as autonomous cars gain popularity, as cities adapt, and as branding changes, our readers—and clients—have an improved understanding of the world around them and of the decisions they may face—even the ones as simple as choosing to store their bikes safely at home for the summer.