Motorhomes are passé.
Limos are tacky.
What’s a suave gent to do when he has to take a few friends somewhere nice?
Luxury vans are the hottest new forms of transport, with both Ford and Mercedes debuting revolutionary takes on the humble hippie van.
Ford’s new Transit Skyliner, which replaces the Ford (Rapevan) Econoline, is anything but economy transport.
Stepping into the van you’re greeted by a full bar and LED mood lighting—controlled by iPads. This isn’t your grandfather’s limo with tube lights and matted carpet either. Wood floors are a feature of this luxe ride, as well as the following:
There’s a motorized table and four motorized robo-chairs in the main seating area, and they can rotate to face one another or be put in a “theater” mode where they all face a drop-down screen.
Mercedes teamed up with classic American trailer manufacturer Airstream to create the Autobahn, which unlike the Transit Skyliner, is slated for production.
The van features chocolate brown leather seating with pinstriped wood floors, like you’d find on a yacht. It seats eight, so if you don’t have friends, it won’t be hard to make them.
When it comes to tech:
Autobahn comes standard with the innovative Airstream Smart Control™ System providing centralized control for all main cabin lighting, shades, heating and air conditioning through the user’s smart device. The system also controls onboard entertainment, with state-of-the-art electronics including a 32 inch LCD TV screen, Blu-Ray player, Pandora, and an Apple TV box with Air Play functionality. The Airstream Smart Control System can be operated through the vehicle’s onboard electronics, any web-enabled smart device (including smart phones & tablets) and laptops with wireless capabilities.
The Autobahn starts at $133,024—and the best part?
It gets 18 MPG highway.
Riding first class just got a little sweeter.