Cadillac, BMW to Mercedes, the best and most frivolous car tech is going to electric vehicles

tech.hindustantimes.com:

From regenerative braking to the quiet hum of battery-powered cruising, electric vehicles are upending many a fundamental when it comes to the traditional driving experience. Slide into the cockpit of a contemporary EV, though, and you'll notice another bit of hardware getting an unexpected rethink: the humble interior light. Gone is the jaundiced bulb that blinks on when a car door is opened, the one your parents warned had to stay off while the vehicle was in motion. In its stead? A veritable LED disco. Today the interior of nearly every battery-powered car is veined with lights in the dashboard, door frames, foot wells and ceiling. 

Drivers of the Cadillac Lyriq, for example, can change the cockpit lights to virtually any hue using a touch-screen color wheel. The BMW XM hybrid, meanwhile, has recessed lights bordering the entire headliner, which makes the car feel like a swanky club or a museum, depending on the chosen shade. At night, the cockpit of the Mercedes EQS SUV is a symphony of lights conducted by the accelerator: Speed away from a stoplight and they pulse red. 

We are now on WhatsApp. Click to join .

To hear automakers tell it, the right lighting goes a long way. “Fill the cabin with light that reflects mood or creates emotion,” Cadillac intones of the Lyriq's ambient options. But in reality, lights are a cheap trick — and that's kind of the point, says Maeva Ribas, director of The CARLAB Inc., a consultancy that helps auto giants develop new vehicles. As carmakers go electric, they're sending more resources — in budgets and brains — straight to battery-powered models. That means anyone looking for the latest, greatest and most frivolous in auto innovation will increasingly find it in an EV. 

“All the new