The Afeela EV being developed by Sony and Honda will let you display messages and images on the front bumper, according to a new video about the car, including the ability to advertise video games.
You can see the label appear on the screen — sorry, “media bar” — starting at 3:17 in the video. The video shows some of the more logical uses for the media bar, such as displaying a car’s name, a red warning sign, or even a birthday greeting. But the video also shows how you can display their logos Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse, fortniteAnd Forbidden Horizon West Complete Editionwhich is ridiculous.
That’s not the only weird — and potentially distracting and dangerous — tech thing found in the screen-filled car. One feature, “Monster View,” displays virtual kaiju monsters on sections of the road that you can see on your dashboard screen and encourages the driver to “catch the monsters that have escaped.” Encouraging people to hunt down virtual monsters that only they can see while navigating crowded city streets seems like a bad idea. You can also apparently watch movies on the giant screen on your car’s dashboard, which seems like an even worse idea!
You’ll have to watch the full video yourself to get an idea of what Sony and Honda think of the Afeela. (There are two other new videos about the car as well.) However, I should note that the Afeela is described as a “prototype” in the YouTube description, so anything in the video could change before this car goes to market, which Sony said Honda said last year will happen in North America in 2026.