When’s the last time you saw fins on a car? Probably the last time you visited a classic car show; they went out of fashion some time in the early 60s. But you know what they say: sooner or later, everything comes back into fashion. So maybe the Volvo 360c concept that debuted September 5 is a harbinger of things to come at Fields Volvo Northfield.
The fins add a retro-futuristic touch to the car, but everything else here is resolutely forward-looking. Volvo AB is already looking past Level 3 autonomy to the kind of full autonomy that lets passengers lounge on long drives. The exterior wouldn’t look out of place at a Volvo dealership; the inside wouldn’t look out of place on a private jet.
There’s a coffee maker. There is also — as we’d expect from a new Volvo car — a huge focus on safety. The reclining seats even have blankets with built-in safety harnesses. Other safety features are still more innovative, allowing the vehicle to interact with the other cars and pedestrians in its environment for added safety.
Will we see this car in production form at your Northfield Volvo dealership? Our prediction: it's hard to say. Some concept cars are easy to envision in production form, but this one may be too far ahead of its time to be seen on our lot, or in a driveway, any time soon. But then again, that isn’t always the point of concept cars. At their best, they’re an outward expression of the research and development going on within a company, both proof of concept and a test bed for technologies and approaches to the driving experience that can take years to come to fruition.
The near future has plenty to offer as it is; a new EV comes out next year that RoadShow says is likely to be based on the current Volvo XC40. And of course, there’s plenty more innovation in the new Volvo cars we already offer at Fields Volvo Northfield. So why not get a glimpse of the future right now in the present? It’s waiting for you at 770 Frontage Road.