Clean Green Cars: ATNMBL, the electric vehicle that asks "Where can I take you?"

ATNMBL, the electric vehicle that asks "Where can I take you?"

Autonomobile - Click above for gallery

As a user of the terrible (IMHO) Google G1 phone, the news that the design team responsible for the look of the handset was releasing images for a new concept vehicle called the Autonomobile (alternately, the ATNMBL) didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Reading over the ideas that Mike and Maaike used to create the ATNMBL, though, shows that one bad product - and the G1’s main problem might be the Android software more than the design - shouldn’t prohibit one from trying again.

Mike and Maaike tried to convey with the Autonomobile that we’re approaching “the end of driving.” The “auto” part of the name hints at the autonomous, self-driving nature of the all-electric vehicle. Instead of steering, braking and watching for traffic, you can sit in the living room-like interior and watch TV after telling car where you want to go. The car’s initial question when someone gets in is “Where can I take you?” and the occupants can request that the car drive fast, efficiently or along a scenic route.

Since the electric drivetrain is compact, with motors hidden in each wheel and batteries in the floor and solar panels on the roof, the ATNMBL has wrap-around seating for seven but the overall size is smaller than most cars on the road today. There’s more on the design of the ATNMBL over at Core77. Don’t look for these on the streets just yet. Mike and Maaike dreamt up the concept to meet our transportation needs in 2040.

Gallery: ATNMBL