A week or two before Techland launched, I trekked across the country to Michigan for the first time. Ford wanted me to take a spin in their VIRRTEX driving simulator and I happily obliged. Not that they paid for me to get there or put me up anywhere. I stayed at the Time house in Detroit. I’d never been to the Midwest and figured this was as good an opportunity as any. I also wanted to see what in the hell was going on in Detroit. I couldn’t help but ask myself if it was really as bad as it was being portrayed. But more on that later.
I’m not a gearhead and haven’t owned a car in four years. It was my hope that Ford would let me drive a GT or some other really fast car on the test track. That didn’t happen. I did, however, get a chance to drive all manner of hybrid and electric cars that are currently in the fleet and coming out in the next few years. I hate to sound biased since I’ve only been to Ford, but these guys are working on some really cool stuff. Ford’s Microsoft-powered SYNC technology is just the tip of the iceberg for what the behemoth has in store for the future. Take a look at Eva, which is the concept avatar system that’s being demoed in the Lincoln C concept car. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a one-on-one demo of the latest build. Bummed.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8iGWzG5wyU]
So, anyway, here’s a cut of my time in the VIRRTEX driving simulator and on the track testing out the alarm warning system. After 15-20 minutes in the simulator I almost puked. Just thinking about it makes me want to puke.