LAS VEGAS—It’s common to hear someone say, “I love my car,” but here at CES, it’s clear that Honda wants people to actually be in love with their cars.
I’m talking full-blown relationship, an update-your-Facebook-status-in-2009 kind of deal. The language the company uses to describe the EVs it debuted at CES reminds me of a notorious episode of TLC’s My Strange Addiction, in which a man has a long-term relationship with a car.
“It was love at first sight. His body, his interior, everything seemed to fit and I felt an instant connection,” says Nathaniel. He met his fiery red sedan in a resale lot and named him Chase. After Chase suffered an unfortunate accident, the two were forced to part ways. But life goes on, and he later moved on to a black car named Lex, which he “loves with all his heart.”
Will a Honda be Nathaniel’s next lover? The Japanese automaker debuted three EVs at the show: a sedan and SUV as part of the 0 Series lineup and one made in partnership with Sony. At times, the promotional materials were uncomfortably intimate and borderline sexual. I know we’re in a loneliness crisis, but going on dates with a hunk of metal probably isn’t the solution.
But it’s not just Honda—sexual references are everywhere in the AI sphere, from LG’s “Affectionate Intelligence” CES tagline to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s fixation on using AI to recreate the movie Her, in which a man falls in love with a computer. Sex sells better than EV charging cords and productivity tools.
“Saloon is my partner, always by my side, opening me up to new experiences and expanding my world,” the driver of Honda’s upcoming Saloon sedan says in a promotional video. As it played on a gigantic, three-wall screen during a press conference, my eyes darted from left to right. Were other people seeing this? Are we supposed to act like this is normal?
Honda 0 Series Saloon EV (Credit: Emily Forlini)
“Shall we go see a beautiful view?” Saloon asks Naomi. In another shot, the car asks, “Are you okay, Naomi? You look nervous.” The implication is that it an in-vehicle camera scanned her face and used AI to determine the emotion. Naomi says the car “comforts” her.
Saloon isn’t a cheap date. Honda told reporters it will debut in 2026 as a luxury car; more affordable 0 Series EVs will arrive before 2030. It’s unclear if either avant-garde looks or advanced AI features will make it to production. But the industry is certainly headed that way, with the Tesla Cybertruck and any carmakers upping their in-vehicle voice tech with ChatGPT.
Honda 0 Series SUV (Credit: Emily Forlini)
Be warned: Like any lover, Honda’s EVs can betray you. The tech runs on a new, in-house operating system powered by a new chip. The AI requires so much energy that it may drain range from the battery, Honda told reporters at a roundtable discussion. This mirrors the entire chip industry’s push to develop more powerful and efficient offerings.
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Honda named the operating system ASIMO, after a humanoid robot it developed in the early 2000s. ASIMO could “recognize external environments and…react while understanding the intentions of people,” Honda says. That’s required for human interaction, as well as self-driving, which is another big focus of Honda’s future EV plans.
ASIMO robot (Credit: Emily Forlini)
Not A-Feelin’ It
I wrestled my way through the crowds and out of the Honda 0 Series press conference to head over to the other end of the convention center, where Honda is peddling a third EV made in partnership with Sony. It’s called “Afeela,” because it’s supposed to be a car you can “feel.” It’s right up Nathaniel and Naomi’s alley, though odds are neither can afford the $90,000 price tag.
“Come on out, Afeela,” Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, said to the car.
Honda Afeela EVs (Credit: Emily Forlini)
Unlike the 0 Series, AFEELA aims to create an emotional bond with the driver through entertainment, such as movies pulled from Sony’s extensive studio archives. At CES, Sony announced the car will have a built-in PlayStation 5 so the driver can play Fortnite, presumably while parked or when the car is driving itself.
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About Emily Dreibelbis Forlini
Senior Reporter
