Rodney

This is not a Tilted Motors what's-your-favorite-ride question. Rather, what technology of car or vehicle do you think many or most of us will be driving in 20 years? Still internal combustion? Fuel Cell? Electric? Will the car of the future be bigger? Smaller? Will there be more one-seaters around? Will public transit actually prove to be worth a damn and reduce the need for cars?

Personally, I'm hearing of a growing global shortfall of oil in 5-10 years, given increasing demand (from all the usual suspects, plus India and China), a falloff in new oil discoveries, and flat production in current oilfields. I'm thinking that we'll all have fewer and/or smaller cars and that there'll be more "metro" vehicles: better-technology small electric cars, single-user electric vehicles vaguely similar to the Segway only less dorky and more capable, and maybe more multi-modal transit -- the kind where you can ride a small electric scooter or vehicle to the train, bring it on board, and ride away again once the train gets to destination.

I'm in a minority here because I think electric vehicles have been written off too quickly; fuel cell is a nice technology, but the cost of the hydrogen producing/distributing infrastructure would be huge. You don't need that with electric, and some newer battery technologies would be great for electric cars if they ever get the cost down. But let's not let this all be about electric cars. Just _what_ do you expect to be driving, and why?

WarWagon

Hopefully something powered by Nitro. At least on the strip, I could really care less about my street cars, though it'd be nice if they went to ethanol.

Bobaphat

Hopefully something kind of car that runs on some yet undiscovered cheap, clean, renewable fuel source and goes really fast and looks really hot.

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Halx

According to various sources, I'll be teleporting to where I need to go.

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heyal256

Being semi-realistic, I'd think that we'd be driving some sort of electric/bio-diesel/ethanol type hybrid (maybe with a few solar panels).

Then again it would be nice to have transporters/flying cars like we were promised when we were kids (I think I watched waaaaaaaay too much tv as a kid )

Kaos

I'm still waiting for the flying car

animosity

i see myself not leaving my house, using the internet for eveything i need.

tkkfan

I think the cars in Minority Report are still too far off, but I really see the same stuff, just things that look a little more like Chryslers. Chrysler seems to have the most futuristic looking cars atm. I don't think 20 yrs is enough time for change tho.

Although, the last 100 years have been the most productive and technologically advanced...ever. It just seems that there are too many conservatives in America to actually move forward. They are having too many hangups with technology and are fighting against change.

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Fremen

Some of us need to go back to horse and buggy.
Slow some people down.

Go Amish!

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phredgreen

care to share those sources?



i think the peak oil thing is an overreaction, but it is going to spur new hydrogen technology... i see cars using hydrogen sooner than later, with the possibility of cold fusion in the next 10-20 years replacing that as a cheap, safe alternative.

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ratbastid

There was a sci-fi novel I read once that featured vehicles that were basically enormous gyroscopes, riding on a single wheel. They got forward velocity by inclining the axis of the vehicle relative to the plane of the gyroscope, to produce gyroscopic precession forces to accellerate the vehicle. Pretty nifty!

Probably more than 20 years off, though. I think hybrids are the wave of the immediate future. Probably 10 years. By then we may have a battery that can last long enough to have a solely electric car (that actually has room in the trunk for something other than batteries).

telekinetic

I see myself driving an AWD zero-emmissions turbocharged gas-electric hybrid, with a continuously variable transmission and four-wheel steering. Petroleum will still be the primary fuel, because the oil industry is too big to just fade away.

It will have electormagnetic dampers for shocks, and all drive-by-wire controls with haptic feedback ("Force feedback", like in joysticks, so you can 'feel the road')

You will be able to dial in the ride so it will drive like anything from a mostly-FWD stable commuter with a luxery ride and gentle to an AWD-supplimented RWD performance vehicle with stiffened suspension and close-ratio steering. It will have even more sophisticated skyline-like traction, stability, and ABS controls...and it will recognize the driver by the key-fob and learn their various habits (Manage drivetrain for economy vs. sport, for example) and remember their settings.

As far as safety features, it will have quite a few smart air-bags, including some external low-speed collision airbags on the front bumper and side panels of the vehicle to help it pass new 35mph minimal-injury pedestrian collision requirements that the government will have mandated. Also, it will have front looking radar, both for smart and dynamic speed-adjusting cruise control (will keep you X distance from the car ahead, or XX speed, whichever is faster) and an accident avoidance measure (will apply the brakes if it calculates that the closing rate between the vehicles will result in a collision).

Yup...that's about it. Now, if this were 50 years, I'd say lane-following and point-to-point autopilot, but i don't think they're going to get that advanced.

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tecoyah

I see vehicles powered by the flywheel. regenerating power from movement and braking.

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MSD

In 20 years, we'll all be driving hybrids, and those who don't will be taxed nearly to death. All high-performance vehicles will be running TDI systems, reducing fuel consumption while maintaining performance (Like the new Lamborghini Gallardo that gets 35mpg and delivers over 600hp 980 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels.) A universal mass transit system will be in the works, with tax credits and incentives for those who chose to leave the car at home, or to not own a car at all.

The art of bicycle riding will regain popularity among fears of diminishing oil supply, and cyclists will have their own safe lanes along most roads with barriers to separate them from traffic. It will be cheaper and more efficient to make short bike trips than to hop in the car and drive a few blocks.

Home delivery services with online ordering will eliminate the need for most grocery store trips and other errands, reducing road congestion and pollution.

zxello

I'll be jacked into the matrix and thinking my way to wherever I want to go =)

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guthmund

Everytime I think of teleportation, I'm reminded of the scene in Spaceballs where the President's head gets slapped on backwards and facing his ass. No thanks.

I really don't think in 20 years you'll need to leave the house all that much. Movies, plays, and concerts pumped into your home on demand. Everything you need will be delivered promptly. Working from home will be the standard and schools will be a combination of on-line curriculum and real-time with interactive lessons with instructors through the television. (Sort of like current "distance learning" classes, but beefed up with better support)

Obviously there are some things that you will have to leave the house for. I really don't see much innovation for the car industry in the next 20 years. (They've always been rather reluctant) Optimistically speaking however, I think by then cars will have made the complete switch to an alternative power (electric, hydrogen, or something we haven't found yet.) I also think that the current crop of SUV/Sedan cars will become more the norm.

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brandon11983

I want to be driving a spaceship. Or maybe one of those cars from the game Wip3out.

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irseg

I'm not so sure cars of 20 years from now will be significantly different. My '88 Thunderbird is almost 20 years old. It has a turbo 4 cylinder and all the stuff a typical modern car has. Power everything, ABS, multiport fuel injection, modern emissions controls, etc. Aside from the styling and safety ietms (no airbags) it's not much different from most cars of today.

As for design, given the trend of retro styling and SUV+car hybrids, I think 1940s era designs might make somewhat of a comeback.

Karby

i'm thinking some kind of electric hybrid of some sort...i dunno. i don't know very much about cars..

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World's King

This.

77' Cadillac

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tisonlyi

Gyrocars have been made before...

Gyro X

Myself?

I'm banking on us all transcending the physical form and becoming creatures of pure energy.

*holds breath*

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RoboBlaster

I'll be driving my wife crazy.

Lasereth

I agree. Body styles and names will be different, but I don't see any major changes on the horizon. There will probably be more hybrid cars out there, but I really, really don't think that they'll be much more popular than they are today. People still drive 20 year old cars today, so they will 20 years from now as well.

50 years is a good time gap to see a big changes in cars. I think after 50 years there's a good possibility that most of the drivers will have hybrid cars.

-Lasereth

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tkkfan

ditto

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skier

I would really love to see fuel cell powered cars on the road in 20 years, but I don't think it;s really feasible. If hydrogen based power develops, I think it'll start with generators and portable power sources first before moving on to automotive applications.

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Bill O'Rights

Hybrids and fuel cells aside...I'll probably still be driving my '77 Chevy pick-up. That thing won't die!!

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Redjake

I think there will be more hybrid cars. Maybe some full-electric ones. But the biggest part will definitely be combustion engines still. No flying cars.

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nanofever

I think the Soutpark guys might have a working prototype of what you are describing...

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CinnamonGirl

I'm sure everyone else will have a nicer car, but *I* will be driving a flying Delorean

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bltzkriegmcanon

Hopefully I won't still be driving my piece of shit '90 Honda.

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BoomTruck

An old Kenworth W900B.

Hey, I'm too damn tall to fit in a car, ok?

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MSD

I was just thinking, and since diesel engines can be easily converted to run on plant oils, I'll bet that legalization of THC-free hemp gives us a super-cheap and renewable source of fuel.

This kills the fuel problem and reduces the pollution problem.

analog

I think some of the biggest advances are the electromagnet shock systems. they are in working condition now, but they are trying to find a practical way to power it in a car. basically- when the car is in motion, the chassis, or any other part of the car for that matter, is NEVER touching the wheels. You basically float on the magnetic field it creates... smoothest ride you can have is a ride on a non-existent surface. You could be driving over rebar or rocks and you'd never know it.

shakran

hey that's a great idea! Now i'll NEVER know when I'm starting to slide in a corner

zxello

that gyro wheel is actually made, it has been on Ripley's Believe it or Not and some motorcycle shows, really unstable but its also pretty fast

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Old signature just wasn't doing it for me anymore, so now I have this new one. It's equally as stupid but at least it looks really long. I'm probably just going to keep typing until I run out of things to babble about and see how many people actually read this. I once ran down a hill, fell down and hurt my elbow; my mom said I would be ok, she kissed it and made it all better. I've run out of things to say now, so if you have read this whole thing, congratulations you get a gold star!

Rodney

I've talked to guys who make biodiesel in their garages from grease scavenged from restaurant grease traps. It's work and slightly dangerous -- involves lye and other fun stuff, and you're essentially putting together a mini-refinery. I also know people who are trying to make biodiesel commercially from the same sources (restaurant grease), but they can't compete with the renderers, who'll pay more -- it can be made into soap. There are also two or three cars in this town that run on soy oil as well.


Aside from that, there's an outfit called Changing World Technology, backed by a lot of heavy hitters, that's rolling out a technology called depolymerization, that basically can break down any organic waste matter -- sewage, food processing waste, old tires, practically any any polymer -- into useful products, particularly fuel oil, in a cost-effective manner. They've got a pilot plant and one commercial operation going already. If you can image putting a plant like this at every sewage treatment plant in America, you could produce _a lot_ of oil. Here's the website:

http://www.changingworldtech.com/home.html

None of the above address the issues of global warming through vehicle emissions, of course, and that may be more of an issue as time goes on. Even soy-oil-burning cars put out CO2.

Stare At The Sun

I will be driving a Mint condition Corvette stingray w/ a 427. And, probably some sort of luxury sports car to work and back.

Yeah, thats the plan anyways.

MSD

That's why the widespread cultivation of non-THC-bearing hemp will be a major factor. Hemp oil is extremely cheap if mass-produced. If it's the only viable alternative, it'll happen.

Sparhawk

Seriously, where's my fucking rocket pack?

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Rodney

You might want to remember what Avery Brooks had to say on the subject:
Paste this URL into your browser address blank (for some reason, it doesn't execute correctly as a link from within TFP:


www.dailywav.com/0800/flyingcars.wav