"Electronics take possession of the car"

That was written in 1984. That was when combustion engines and cars were still mostly simple and without electronics. But electronics? It was coming! That was certain. Whether that was good or bad? The person who has just had to pay 650 euros for a new electronic accelerator will certainly have an opinion on that.

But in 1984 everything was still in its infancy

First, it was made clear that there was a difference between electricity and electronics. The electrical options had already been introduced: central door locking, electrically operated windows, an electric trunk unlocker, electric exterior mirrors, an electric sliding roof and electrically flipping headlights. All stuff with engines. Simple.

Electronics go deeper

Electronics is the branch of electrical engineering that deals with the behavior of electrons in active components (including electron tubes and transistors) or in non-linear components (including diodes). And everything could also be operated with a remote control. It shouldn't get much crazier!

And then we first arrive at the on-board computer

In 1984 that was still a rude thing with limited mental abilities. The Audi Quattro was already a 'next level' with its speech computer / synthesizer. That speech synthesizer was a kind of audio tell-tale that let you hear when something is wrong. That idea was so new at the time that those systems did not yet speak Dutch. Many testers experienced this as a nuisance. Motorola - who still knows that brand? - had already invented a screen at that time with variable optical information in the language of your choice.

The contemplation at the beginning of the 1980s was that the electronics in cars would increase

There was a dream about traffic information systems, road maps and route planners. Parking aids were carefully tried out. And the systems that guaranteed safe driving distance and adapted to weather conditions were already in the works. The possibility of autonomous driving cars was seen as realistic.

Electronics is also finite

In the meantime, that electronics is something that's going to hurt classics from the late XNUMXs. Electronics are also finite. And most electronic components from the early electronics era are scarce or exhausted. The days when stocks of NOS stuff were lying around and wandering around the world are really over since the streamlining of production processes.

And 'reference' is not there (for the time being) yet. Fortunately, there are some specialist companies that can resuscitate deceased electronics. However, specialist work does have its price. But if you see a fantastic classic with a faltering 'electronic' dashboard, then it is very wise to find out before purchasing whether such a masterpiece of technology at that time can still be resuscitated.

But the thinkers in 1984 were right: the advance of car electronics was unstoppable. And look at where that has brought us all to 2018. And later? Soon our autonomous car can do the shopping while we drown in Netflix series. Is that a future or not?

That's how Colani came up with the future for Mercedes-Benz in 1985. Futuristic. And full of electronics. But still with normal lighting. Because LED lighting still had to be invented.