A similar concept from UI design is Apple's async progress indicator. Many more non-Apple applications and websites (eg. Twitter) seem to be using it now, but Microsoft (like Mercedes) will probably never use it.
All Prius (Priuii?) have them. I can't decide if it is because it is a hatchback (common there) or if it is because they are marketing towards the wealthy.
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conc...
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conc...