Maybe we won’t own cars in the future, but we may still own parts of them. And British automaker Jaguar Land Rover hopes it’s able to keep some hands on steering wheels.
Sayer is meant to be a stylish device that lives in your home
While Daimler's Smart Vision EQ concept gets rid of the steering wheel, Jaguar Land Rover imagines a future where the steering wheel is the only part of a car people own. The company announced a concept for a standalone steering wheel, called Sayer, that will be revealed on Thursday in London.
Unlike the dumb wheel in your current car, Jaguar Land Rover wants Sayer to be a “trusted companion” in your home, like a butler or a corgi. The company imagines you will talk to your AI-powered steering wheel, and that it will help you perform "hundreds" of tasks. "Need to be at a meeting two hours away from home by 8 a.m. tomorrow?" Jaguar asks. "Simply ask Sayer from the comfort of your living room."
You own the wheel, not the car
Never mind that Sayer is less of a wheel and more of a rounded rectangle, Jaguar Land Rover hopes a steering wheel can be pictured as a stylish AI device. That’s why they’ve adopted a name from Jaguar’s past: Malcolm Sayer, one of the brand’s most esteemed designers, who worked for the company between 1951 and 1970.
And for the high-end customers who tend to be attracted to Jaguar, that may be more enticing than placing a key card on the windshield of a Smart car on the street.