現在購車的一般流程是，先網上搜索，再訪問本地經銷商，如果你無法近距離觀察汽車，還需要一點點想象力。

沃爾沃希望借助微軟尚未上市的增強現實設備HoloLens，擺脫這種有局限性的購車體驗。這家汽車制造商已宣布與微軟合作，準備將HoloLens融入到購車體驗當中。不過，此次合作不止限于使用增強現實技術——兩家公司還將在自動駕駛技術方面展開合作，并將使用聯網汽車生成的海量數據，合作開發其他新服務。

在華盛頓州雷德蒙德市的微軟總部舉行的一場展示會上，兩家公司正式宣布合作。微軟向與會者展示了沃爾沃客戶如何利用其增強現實界面，在三維空間中配置車輛。例如，戴上無線纜、可穿戴的全息攝影計算機HoloLens后，客戶可以探索其潛在購買對象的內飾和外觀，還可以更改功能、顏色和其他選項。

不過，在沃爾沃經銷商那里，你短期內還看不到HoloLens。沃爾沃聯網汽車部門發言人薩沙?黑尼格告訴《財富》雜志，目前尚不能給出具體的推出日期。換言之，敬請期待未來的消息。

與沃爾沃的合作對微軟同樣有好處。微軟曾透露稱，該公司希望HoloLens不只是一款娛樂設備。微軟在增強現實與虛擬現實技術領域投入了巨資。據研究咨詢公司Digi-Capital預測，至2020年，這兩項業務的年收入將達到1500億美元。

與此同時，汽車制造商之間也在展開一場“技術軍備競賽”，紛紛研發自動駕駛汽車，將駕駛員變成乘客。正在研發自動駕駛技術的汽車制造商，并不僅僅限于奧迪、戴姆勒集團旗下的梅賽德斯-奔馳、福特和特斯拉等公司。微軟的競爭對手蘋果和谷歌也在開發無人駕駛汽車。

2010年被浙江吉利控股集團收購的沃爾沃，一直在研發自動駕駛功能，包括允許駕駛員通過方向盤上專門設計的控制桿激活和關閉自動駕駛模式。這個名為“IntelliSafe Auto Pilot”的人機界面，將首先用在100輛沃爾沃XC90上。沃爾沃計劃將這100輛汽車提供給2017年在瑞典哥德堡開始的“Drive Me”項目。

These days, buying a car typically involves some online research, a visit to a local dealer, and a little imagination—if you can’t get an up close view of the vehicle.

Volvo wants to break free from this limited buying experience by using HoloLens, Microsoft’s yet-to-be-released, augmented reality device. The automaker announced it would work with Microsoft to incorporate the device into the car-buying experience. But this partnership won’t be limited to just using augmented reality—the companies plan to work on autonomous driving technologies as well, and use the enormous amount of data generated from connected cars to create other new services.

During a demonstration at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. where the partnership was announced, attendees were shown how the Windows-maker’s augmented reality interface could be used by Volvo customers to configure cars in three dimensions. For example, wearing HoloLens, an untethered, wearable holographic computer, customers can explore the ins and outs of their potential purchase, changing features, colors, and other options.

But don’t expect HoloLens at local Volvo dealers anytime soon. Sascha Heiniger, a spokesman for Volvo’s connected car division, told Fortune that at this stage, it’s too early to talk about a concrete introduction date. In other words, stay tuned for future announcements.

Still, the Volvo collaboration also helps Microsoft, which has said in the past that it wants HoloLens to be more than an entertainment device. Microsoft has invested heavily in both augmented reality and virtual reality technology, which are two businesses that are expected to generate $150 billion in combined annual revenue by 2020, according to Digi-Capital, a research and advising firm.

Meanwhile, automakers are in a technological race todevelop self-driving vehicles that will turn drivers into passengers. Audi, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, Ford, and Tesla are just a few automakers that are developing autonomous driving features. Microsoft competitors Apple and Google are also developing driverless cars.

Volvo, which was acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding of China in 2010, has been working on autonomous features that include an interface which will allow drivers to activate and deactivate the self-driving mode through specially-designed paddles on the steering wheel. The interface, called IntelliSafe Auto Pilot, will be available for the first time on 100 XC90 model cars that Volvo will make available for its Drive Me project in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2017.

沃爾沃一直在嘗試各種方式，讓汽車在完全受控的情況下，從駕駛員駕駛向全自動駕駛模式過渡。在2015年洛杉磯車展上，沃爾沃公布了其中一種想法——專屬座椅設計和娛樂信息中心，當駕駛員在駕駛模式與放松模式之間轉換時，座椅和娛樂信息中心可自動進行調整。當駕駛員希望汽車接管駕駛的時候，這款Concept 26汽車的方向盤可以伸縮，座椅可放倒，儀表板上會突然出現一個大的顯示器。Concept 26代表每天平均26分鐘的通勤時間。

由于監管跟不上技術進步的速度，我們或許要等到幾年甚至幾十年之后才能看到全自動駕駛汽車。所以，沃爾沃才會關注其他可以實施的技術，如微軟的HoloLnes。例如，沃爾沃開始銷售其新款插電式混合動力車時，可以將增強現實設備作為一個特別便利的銷售工具。沃爾沃希望，至2020年，該公司至少10%的全球銷售額將來自電動汽車。要實現這一目標，它必須說服消費者放棄汽油驅動的引擎。該公司還計劃在整個產品系列中增加插電式混合動力車，開發更緊湊的全新電動車，并計劃在2019年推出純電動汽車。（財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

審校：任文科

Volvo has also experimented with ways to transition consumers from driving to full autonomous mode, in which the car is in total control. One idea, which debuted this week at the 2015 LA Auto Show, is an interior seat design and infotainment center that adjusts as the driver moves from driving to relaxing. Concept 26—named to reflect the average daily commute to work of 26 minutes—makes the steering wheel retract, the seat recline, and a large display suddenly emerge from the dashboard, when the driver wants the car to take over.

Fully autonomous vehicles may be years, perhaps decades away, largely because regulations have not caught up with technology. This is why Volvo has focused on other implementing tech, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, in the meantime. For instance, the augmented reality device could could be a particularly handy sales tool device as Volvo starts rolling out its new plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. The company is aiming for at least 10% of its global sales to come from electrified cars by 2020. To reach that goal, it will have to convince consumers to move away from gas-powered engines. The company is also planning to add plug-in hybrid vehicles across its entire product range, to develop a whole new line of smaller, electric cars, and to build an all-electric vehicle for sale by 2019.