Concept Cars

Meet the Vision Mercedes Simplex

Sep 30, 2019, 8:54 am

The Vision Mercedes Simplex is a fresh take on old meets new.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

To cross the road, you should first look one way then the other. A glance tells you what is coming and what has passed by. That same idea is what has inspired the Vision Mercedes Simplex, a concept vehicle and sculpture by Mercedes-Benz.

"Only a brand that is as strong as Mercedes-Benz is capable of the physical symbiosis of history and future. The 'Vision Mercedes Simplex' symbolizes the transformation of the brand-specific luxury of Mercedes-Benz", said Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer, Mercedes-Benz.

Vision Mercedes Simplex tire axle The new concept car plays on old themes, reminding the audience of the company's automotive heritage.Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

The Simplex, as Mercedes refers to it, redefines the historic look of a car for the modern era. It's a two-seater with freestanding wheels. Designers point to the vertical color separation between the white front section and the black rear section to show the historic side of the vehicle while transparent rims and sleek aerodynamic attributes are from the modern playbook.

At the vehicle's front is a rose gold radiator frame, which pays homage to the bronze radiator rings of years past. Inside the ring is a digital display of the classic Mercedes script.

Vision Mercedes Simplex buttons Sleek, simple controls are apparent on the dash.Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

There is no windscreen, nor any doors. There are simple switches in the cabin area, where focus is nearly purely on the wheel, so the driver can theoretically focus exclusively on the road ahead. Remember those days? Driving in its purest expression.

Vision Mercedes Simplex steering wheel The model took design influence from yachts.Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

The car's steering wheel was based on nautical and racing design. Finishes are emblematic of those lifestyles with contrasting colors, soothing color schemes, and high-end finishes. The car's bench seat features hand-made Chesterfield quilting. Its azure blue is inspired by the colors of the Côte d'Azur.

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Safety First

IIHS names America's safest cars, trucks, minivans, and SUVs for 2020

The Honda Insight is one of the Honda models that made this year's list.

Photo courtesy of American Honda Motor Co., Inc

Safety is a big concern for shoppers when considering a new vehicle. Every new car sold in America must meet standards mandated by Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, for motor vehicle safety, but not all vehicles are created equal. While airbags, seat belts and crumple zones keep occupants safe in a crash, technologies available in some new vehicles work to prevent the crash itself.

For a vehicle to be named either an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+, it must earn Good ratings (Good is the highest IIHS rating) in each of six crash tests: driver-side and passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint & seats. The vehicle must also earn an Advanced or Superior rating for front crash prevention in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests, as well as a Good or Acceptable headlight rating.

For the 2020 model year, the IIHS adds an additional requirement for a vehicle to gain distinction as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+. To earn this top award, a vehicle must be available exclusively with Good or Acceptable headlights on all trim variants. This new requirement knocks several previously top-ranked vehicles off the Top Safety Pick+ list.

"The headlight ratings that have been part of our awards criteria in recent years have pushed automakers to pay more attention to this essential equipment," said IIHS President David Harkey. "However, finding vehicles with the right headlights can be a challenge for consumers. We wanted to reward automakers that have removed this obstacle," Harkey noted.

It's important to point out that no trucks made this list. Though IIHS does test trucks, none achieved either Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ status.

Here, in alphabetical order, are the safest new vehicles in America for the 2020 model year — vehicles that achieve the elite IIHS rank of Top Safety Pick+ winner.

2020 Acura RDX

Photo courtesy of Acura

All new last year, the Acura RDX returns to the elite group of safest vehicles in America for the second year in a row. The previous-generation RDX earned the rank of TSP+ for 2016 and 2017, but the compact crossover didn't meet the headlight requirement for 2018. The RDX earns the highest rating for every IIHS crash test, thanks in part to the newest generation of Acura's Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure, new high-strength steel door stiffener rings and eight airbags, including driver and front-passenger knee airbags. The RDX also features the AcuraWatch suite of safety and driver-assist technologies, including automatic emergency braking and road departure mitigation. New LED headlights are now standard.

2020 Audi A6 and A6 Allroad

Photo courtesy of Audi AG

The traditional Audi A6 sedan and Audi A6 Allroad wagon earned honors this year. The A6 hasn't received any significant upgrades for the 2020 model year though features were shuffled throughout the trim levels. The A6 Allroad was new for 2020. Both models comes with a roster of standard driver assistance features including a rearview camera, front and rear parking sensors, lane departure warning, forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, and automatic emergency braking. Buyers can upgrade their model to include a 360-degree camera system (standard on A6 Allroad), adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, intersection crossing assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and night vision technology.

2020 Audi E-Tron

Photo courtesy of Audi AG

The first fully electric model from Audi, the e-tron is a premium 5-seat midsize SUV with an EPA-estimated range of more than 200 miles. For 2020 Audi introduces the sleeker-looking e-tron Sportback, joining the e-tron SUV. The 2019 Audi e-tron SUV is rated as a Top Safety Pick+, but Audi is skipping the 2020 model year for that model. The e-tron employs a new-generation quattro electric all-wheel-drive system that features two potent electric motors — one powering each axle — that adjust the amount of torque delivered to each axle for ideal balance according to driving conditions. The Audi e-tron has the distinction of being the first fully electric vehicle to achieve the Top Safety Pick + ranking. In addition to the e-tron's Good score in the required crash tests, the standard automatic emergency braking operates at speeds up to 52 mph for detecting pedestrians and bicyclists. The system can also bring the vehicle to a full stop when traveling at speeds under 25 mph.

2020 Cadillac XT6

Photo courtesy of Cadillac

An all-new model from Cadillac for the 2020 model year, the XT6 three-row luxury SUV is currently the only American-brand SUV to earn a spot on the Top Safety Pick+ list. The XT6 stands out with a large expressive grille flanked by a choice of bi-function LED projector headlights or performance LED headlights with a three-element projector array, both of which qualify the XT6 for the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ ranking. This stylish new crossover also gets the latest safety technology such as forward collision alert, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, front and rear park assist, rear cross-traffic alert and a rearview camera with remote wash.

2020 Ford Explorer

Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company

The Explorer has been one of the best-selling SUVs in America for decades, but it has never been rated one of the safest in America — until now. Completely new for the 2020 model year, the Explorer comes with Ford Co-Pilot360 — the company's suite of advanced driver-assist features. Co-Pilot360 includes forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, a blind-spot information system, cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist and automatic high-beam headlights. Note that this rating only applies to Explorers built after May 2020 — Ford made structural modifications to improve the performance in small overlap driver's-side crash tests.

2020 Genesis G70

Photo courtesy of Genesis Motors

The Genesis G70 was first introduced in for the 2019 model year and it hasn't changed much since. Every G70 sold comes with forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and driver attention monitoring. Front and rear parking sensors, a surround-view parking camera system, and adaptive headlights are available.

2020 Genesis G80

Photo courtesy of Genesis Motors

Like its littler brother the G70, the Genesis G80 received no updates for the 2020 model year (those came in the 2021). The G80 is lauded for having a long list of standard and available safety features. Each G80 comes standard with driver attention monitor, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert, lane keep assist, a driver attention monitor, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, blind spot monitoring, and a rearview camera. Buyers can get their G80 with adaptive LED headlights, parking sensors, and a surround-view parking camera system.

2020 Genesis G90

Photo courtesy of Genesis Motors

The Genesis G90 was the first model the company introduced and it's the first one to get a new generation. The redesigned 2020 competes directly with most more expensive luxury large cars and comes out near the top of rankings lists. The model basically includes all the same safety technology as the G80, but standard. The list includes: forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, driver attention monitoring, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, adaptive headlights, blind spot monitoring, a surround-view parking camera system, rear cross traffic alert, lane following assist, highway driving assist, safe exit assist, and lane change assist.

2020 Honda Insight

$2019\u20132020 Honda Insight$ Photo courtesy of American Honda Motor Co., Inc

The 2019 and 2020 Honda Insight are virtually identical. Honda didn't make any big changes to the fuel-efficient car for the 2020 model year. The company equips every Insight sold with the Honda Sensing suite of safety technology. This includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation, and traffic sign recognition. It also comes standard with a rearview camera and driver drowsiness monitoring.

2021 Honda Odyssey

Photo courtesy of American Honda Motor Co. Inc.

The 2021 Honda Odyssey is the only minivan to take home Top Safety Pick+ honors this year. Its inclusion follows a refresh of the current generation, which saw Honda add technology and revise the fascia of the vehicle. Each Odyssey comes standard with the Honda Sensing suite of safety technology, which includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation, and traffic sign recognition.

2020 Hyundai Nexo

Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor America

The NEXO remains unique on this list of safest SUVs in America as the only fuel-cell vehicle to earn a Top Safety Pick+ rating. The second-generation fuel-cell vehicle from Hyundai, NEXO is a 5-passenger crossover featuring a stylish exterior with swept-back narrow headlights, flush door handles and a sleek roofline. The NEXO employs three separate hydrogen tanks that improve interior space as well as provide room for a large, flat cargo area. NEXO come with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert and a blind-spot view monitor as standard equipment.

2020 Lexus ES 350

Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

The Lexus ES was fully redesigned for the 2019 model year and hasn't changed much since. Every ES includes the Lexus Safety System+ 2.0 suite of technology that includes a pre-collision system, automatic high beams, lane tracing assist, adaptive cruise control, low-light pedestrian detection, lane departure alert with assist, daytime cyclist detection. Buyers can upgrade and add blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and parking sensors with automatic emergency braking.

2020 Lexus NX

Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

Lexus joined the growing compact luxury SUV segment when it introduced the NX for the 2015 model year. The NX has been a Top Safety Pick+ designee since its introduction, with the exception of the 2018 model year. In addition to earning high scores in the IIHS crash tests, the NX comes with the Lexus Safety System + which includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert and intelligent high beams. The NX is available with the first-ever turbocharged engine in a Lexus — a 2.0-liter four cylinder that produces 235 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Also available with a hybrid powertrain, the NX 300h is one of the most fuel-efficient SUVs in America.