Wondering and wishing about what the future of cars might and should be goes all the way back to the very first car, which is not the Benz Patent Motor Car (thank you, Speed Racer/Jason Torchinsky) but rather the Cugnot Steam Drag. That’s it below, the zenith of automotive design in 1769 (or the nadir; as the first car-thing, it was by default the best and worst of all time, of the time). One can just imagine Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot astride his machine on its first hot, noisy, slow, possibly explode-y voyage, wondering what the futures of 1896 and 1996 would bring to his feat of innovation. “Perchance it shall have two boilers! And drive itself!” He might have thought that, you never know.
What I do know is we automobile people are now more obsessed with the future of cars than ever, as the end of gasoline and diesel as the predominant sources of automotive power is nigh, and advances in artificial intelligence – the worst kind of itelligence, I say – communication networks, and automotive technology intersect to make meatbags in charge command decisions potentially just as obsolete as igniting dinosaur remains to get from A to B.
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So what will tomorrow bring for the automobile? What do you want it to bring? Speaking solely for myself, I hope the near future of cars will include ever more electrification, but not necessarily more pure electric vehicles. For certain, I want everyone for whom a BEV makes sense to get one. But I would also like there to be much greater understanding and acceptance that PHEVs and range-extended electric cars are tremendously beneficial to the environment versus traditional ICE cars, and are an excellent option for many drivers who cannot yet accommodate a BEV life.
I would also be thrilled if the future saw consumers waking up to the notion that they may not need 400 or even 300 miles of range, and maybe 200 miles is fine for nearly all of their trips. Or 100 miles! Less battery capacity means less weight to accelerate and decelerate (and less wear on tires, suspension, and brakes), smaller pack dimensions that free up space for other things, and a reduced sticker price. Further, lower-capacity batteries will allow the Earth’s supply of battery-making elements to go into many more cars than it would in a world where every car must carry a 400-mile battery.
What about you? What would you like to see in the future of cars? The Autopian is asking!
Top graphic image: GM
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