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Manufacturers should stop being so predictable and let their imaginations run riot when dreaming up visions of tomorrow's fleet cars, says The Insider
The fleet car of the future is a common theme for automotive astrologists, but rarely does anyone apply much imagination to it. Skoda is the latest to peer into the antique shop crystal ball, which, lo and behold, has merely trotted out the old tediums about on-board computers creating a mobile office.
At the risk of shattering that dear old mantelpiece ornament, let me make a few predictions/suggestions of my own about what the fleet car of the future should be. Firstly, and this will be a major disappointment to Skoda and whoever else hoping to make a packet selling us car-specific hardware such as in-built computers, we ain't going to give up our own equipment. We might pay for an enhanced wi-fi link and a decent lap-top table, but that's about it.
But that's just boring, so let this fleet manager stretch his wings of fantasy just for a moment (anything to avoid thinking about National Insurance contributions).
For a start, a true mobile office should be just that. Tapping away at a laptop in a car is just as annoying as it is in the economy portion of a plane. What there needs to be is a dedicated area where the out-of-office exec can sit down at a desk and do some solid work without service station zombies peering in at him/her.
So that's not going to be a car, more like a van. Given that vans today can be as economical and decent to drive as cars, they just need a revamp inside. Like a hi-tech camper. The wi-fi internet connection will be boosted to the point that the in-built plasma screen can be used for crystal-clear video conferencing, and of course the computer will be fully interconnectable with the office.
There'll be a fold-down bed inside, so the guys can rest wherever they need. Electric charge points will be installed at service stations across the country, and canny pubs will create special office-car parking areas. The exec might not even need to leave home, in which case, at the start of the day, they just step into their mobile office and everything's there for them.
“What there needs to be is a dedicated area where the out-of-office executive can sit themselves down at a desk and do some solid work without service station zombies peering in at him or her” |
The Insider |
Once we've got to the point that sensor-lined motorways will take control from the driver, our mobile executive of tomorrow will just step into his mobile office and get connected, pausing only to hit the double espresso button on the flush-fitted coffee machine. And when the fixed office finally dies, we'll all be working from this fleet of technovans (well, I'll be in a permanent camper bed six foot under, but you might not), stopping only to meet in hired conference rooms situated just off the least congested motorway - but at 4am, because that's the only time slot we can afford to drive in.
Hybrid-diesels will eventually become hydrogen fuel cells, giving the vans a permanent electricity supply when they're stopped. If you park several together, the tops all open to create one big meeting room. Right, got to stop there, my future vision is starting to fade. Now, Skoda, go away and don't talk to me again about mobile offices until you've made one of these.
Ford has ignored me, at least they have in the States. For F-150 fleet drivers they've created Ford Link, a tablet-style XP-loaded computer that slots into a holder in the central console. Check out the Ford Link video for a demo of how it works.
The Insider is a fleet manager with years of invaluable experience
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