Virtual Reality Is Carmakers’ Latest Selling Tool, at Shows and in Showrooms
“The computers that control the simulation are right out of the Demon.”
While simulations put showgoers in the driver’s seat of a device
that acts and feels like a real vehicle, virtual reality executions can pack a three-dimensional, 360-degree video environment — such as the interior of an automobile and the view through the windows — into a headset.
A number of automakers showed off such V. R.
systems at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, and the technology is already being used in dealerships.
Visitors might learn about an automaker’s plans for urban mobility while flying above a make-believe landscape, take
a virtual reality sprint around a test track or scream down a drag strip at the wheel of a production-model hot rod.
“Lexus and Team One took the Virtual Showroom on the road to support dealer launches, create interest at events
and inspire preorders,” said Todd Lewis, events marketing strategist for the brand.
