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CNN Live Today
What Will Car of the Future Look Like?
Aired June 20, 2002 - 11:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MINORITY REPORT")
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: I need your help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now that's what you call cruise control. Tom Cruise control. He's in his new movie, "Minority Report," which opens tomorrow, and he gets to drive around in the year 2054 in this futuristic Lexus Sports Coupe. May not look like one, but that's a Lexus. And director Steven Spielberg asked Lexus to figure out exactly what it is that we will be driving in 50 years, and this is what they came up with.
Now, you may be asking yourself, why Lexus? Well, Spielberg is a satisfied Lexus owner. We understand he drives a Lexus SUV, and there you have it. Now, Lexus is getting a lot of free mileage from its new movie star. Now, it's known in the trade as a product placement. And CNN.com entertainment correspondent, Paul Clinton, is spending some time in this celebrity car this morning. You saw him a moment ago, and I think he's there in the car right now in Torrance, California -- Paul.
PAUL CLINTON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, how are you, Leon?
HARRIS: I'm jealous.
CLINTON: Check this out. I know. I knew you would be. Now, good thing Tom Cruise is short. There's not a lot of room in here. But this is the car of the future, circa 2054. At least, according to the futurist that Spielberg hired and according to the people at Lexus.
Now, this is what people will be using in terms of like urban, not urban driving, but out in the country. This is a car of the future. And also, they have another concept they came up with, which they're going to be using inside cities in the future, again, according to Spielberg and the people here at Lexus.
Now, this is Mark Wells (ph), who is vice president of marketing for Lexus. And he's going to tell us a little bit more about this car. Now, Leon said that Steven Spielberg came to you and asked you what you thought the future would look like, and this is what you came up with.
MARK WELLS, LEXUS VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING: Absolutely. About three years ago, Steve came to us and said, well, would you mind partnering with us on the film, and, collectively, come together and we'll see. Let's take a shot at what the future would look like.
This is our off system vehicle.
CLINTON: OK. Now, what are some of the special feature here? You have to have cruise control, right?
WELLS: Absolutely. For obvious reasons. It's got laser cruise control. But one of the other features is DNA retinal recognition and ignition system. So, the way you get in the vehicle is it actually identifies based on your retina ...
CLINTON: That's a big thing in the movie, too.
WELLS: Absolutely.
CLINTON: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the future. Also, the rear view mirrors have cameras in them, so you can see what's going on and record it, I guess. The whole car looks like it's going backward. I guess the rearview mirrors are how you (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ...
WELLS: That's the tip-off. Yeah, a lot of people have asked this question. This is indication which is the front and which is the back.
CLINTON: OK, now, also, I understand that in the future, you can change colors.
WELLS: Yeah. Based on your mood. So it's red today. So what kind of mood are you in, Paul?
CLINTON: I'm in a green mood. I'm thinking, in the future, like if you're running from the cops, you turn a corner and, boom, the car's yellow.
WELLS: Change colors, just like that.
CLINTON: OK. Come in handy. Now, it's also dent resistant.
WELLS: Yes, it is.
CLINTON: So you can kick it?
WELLS: Yeah, yeah. But don't kick it because it's a prototype.
CLINTON: So it will dent?
WELLS: Yes.
CLINTON: But the ones in the future will not dent.
WELLS: That's correct. CLINTON: All right. Now, over here on the right here, we have another thing. Now, what is this called?
WELLS: This is the personal pod magnetic levitation vehicle.
CLINTON: Now, this is what people use getting around in the city in the future.
WELLS: Right. This is for urban transportation. It provides people the opportunity to travel within the city, and, you know, based on this particular system, magnetic levitation, you can travel horizontally and vertically. It serves as not only your mode of transportation, but it's your living room. It's your office. Everything is voice activated.
CLINTON: And park it in your house.
WELLS: Absolutely.
CLINTON: It self-cleans, recharges.
WELLS: It self-cleans. Everything, everything.
CLINTON: A whole new meaning to couch potato.
WELLS: Absolutely. Yeah. Matter of fact, the seats will mold to your body, and they're automatically cooled and heated. And there's no knobs. As you can see, everything is voice activated.
CLINTON: Wow. That is amazing. So and the seats also in the car are modeled to your body.
WELL: That's correct. They're self-molding as well, and they're automatically cooled or heated.
CLINTON: I don't know. Leon, you want one of these?
HARRIS: Sure would. How much, though? What's the -- ask about the price tag.
CLINTON: Yeah. What would a price tag on this be? I mean, in 2054 dollars, that must be ...
WELLS: In the year 2054? Well, we don't have a number on it yet, but if you need one, we can get you today before you leave.
CLINTON: How much did it cost for Lexus to make it?
WELLS: Well, we just don't disclose the price, particularly on a broadcast like this.
CLINTON: OK. It was not cheap.
WELLS: No, it was not cheap. It was a (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
CLINTON: OK. Well, Leon, I have something for you. I know you like this car, so I'm sending one to you.
HARRIS: OK.
CLINTON: But, unfortunately, you're just going to have to deal with this one.
HARRIS: You're all heart.
CLINTON: Now, can you and Daryn get in here?
HARRIS: I don't think so. Not unless we lose a lot of weight very quickly. All right, thanks, Paul.
CLINTON: It's a great car. It really is cool.
HARRIS: And it looks great and cool. Thanks. Appreciate it. Paul Clinton reporting live for us this morning.
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