Geneva has exotics. Detroit has muscle. Frankfurt has engineering. And Vegas, well, Vegas has the future.
Despite its former name (the Consumer Electronics Show), CES is every bit a car show. As screens have replaced gauges, electric motors have supplanted engines, and computers take over for drivers, CES has become the world’s go-to showcase for cutting-edge automotive technology.
And there will be no shortage of gawk-worthy gadgetry at CES 2020. From the next breed of driverless cars to Cybertruck wannabes, here’s a glimpse at what we expect this year.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and for dinosaur automakers confronting Tesla’s otherworldlyCybertruck, it may also be the only way to keep up. Ford has beenteasingan electric truck for nearly a year, and CES would seem like the perfect venue to peel back the curtain (and maybe give Tesla atug-of-warrematch?). GMmumbled about an electric truckin the Cybertruck’s shadow, then decided torun home from CES 2020 with its tail between its tires, so count them out. Fiat Chrysler has alsohintedabout adding electric vehicle (EV) power to RAM trucks and Jeeps this year. Toyota is infamously skittish about EVs, but after showing off aplug-in hybrid RAV4at the recent LA Auto Show, a Tacoma or Tundra with the same tech would be a no-brainer to show 4×4 fans that Tesla’s Elon Musk isn’t the only one taking EVs off-road.
3D-printed vehicles
It’s no secret that 3D printing isn’t just for flimsy prototypes behind “do not touch” signs anymore. In early December, a Chinese manufacturerlaunched a Kickstarterthat promised backers a 3D-printed EV for about $6,700. Vaporware? Maybe. But Volkswagen is currently printinghundreds of thousands of 3D-printed partsfor its upcoming ID.3, andFord’s Mustang GT500is currently tearing around on roads with3D-printed brake-line brackets. Advances in the size of 3D printers and the materials they can work with have made them ready to crank out road-worthy parts like gear shifters and mirror mounts. Prepare to see even more at CES 2020.
Electric motorcycles
Last year, Harley-Davidson made a splash by finally launching its long-awaitedLiveWireelectric motorcycle at CES. It’s a shockinglyfun bike, but things are about to get a lot weirder. This year, Canadian startup Damon will unleash ashape-shifting motorcycle prototype. That’s right, shape-shifting. In addition to running on electricity, it will morph from a hunched-over sportbike riding position to an upright cruising position on the fly. We also expect hands-on time withSegway’s new dirt ebike, and the usual smattering of smart motorcycle helmets that never seem to become real.
Steps toward self-driving
Snarky engineers love to joke that the first 90 percent of a project takes 10 percent of the time, and the final 10 percent takes 90 percent of the time. They’re right. And when it comes to autonomous cars, the good news is, we’re 90 percent of the way there. The bad news is … uh, it’s going to be a while.
Expect the biggest players in the game to roll out small fixes to the many barriers that stand between us and full autonomy. Frontrunner Aptivwill announcea new way of sharing computational power between in-car systems. Aeva, a company in the crowded lidar space,will announcea new chip for autonomous cars to sense the world around them. A bajillion companies will tell you this is the year of self-driving cars. They’re all a little optimistic.
In-car entertainment gone wild
Your car may not drive itself yet, but that hasn’t stopped companies from fantasizing about how you’ll use all the extra time when they can. FromTVs on the ceilingtoAudi’s in-car VR, we’ve seen some doozies, and fully expect a whole new batch of out-there ideas this year. Workout equipment built into cars? Meditation mode? Fully stocked backseat bar? Rest assured that by the time your car can drive itself, you’ll never be bored.
Better batteries
Fromlidartonext-gen LED headlights, CES is a bazaar for the tech that makes a smart cars smart. We’ve seen major strides in all of them at past shows, except the one that needs progress most: Batteries. For the most part, everyone (even Tesla) uses some iteration of the same lithium-ion technology that has been around for decades. Itevolvesa bit every year, but we’re still waiting for game-changers like supercapacitors to debut in earnest. Oh wait, didn’t Lamborghini justpatent one with the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyfor use in itsupcoming Sián supercar? Yes, it did. And we’d love to see it at CES 2020, along with some other supercapacitor competitors.
The next Tesla?
Consider this one a long shot, but the transition to EVs has traditional automakers on their heels, and CES is home turf for all of Tesla’s biggest challengers. Newcomers like Rivian, Byton and (the reborn) Fisker have all used the show as a stage to strut their stuff in the past, and we wouldn’t be shocked to see one of them step out with a major announcement this year. In fact, we just got word that Fisker will launch theOcean electric SUV. Could we see aRiviansedan? A Byton ready for roads? AFaraday Futureanyone believes is real? It’ll all become clear at CES 2020.
