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
I want almost the exact opposite of where the mainstream auto industry is now.
Slower
Less Powerful
Quieter
Smaller
Lower & more aerodynamic
Cleaner styling = fewer fake grilles, fake aero-slats, fake DLO, fake “floating roof” profiles
Actual bumpers.
More bodystyle choices – to include sedans, wagons, 2 door coupes, hardtops & convertibles.
More colorful – including more white roofs, fewer black roofs and no more black wheels.
Smaller wheels + more sidewall.
More RWD/FWD – Less AWD
Smaller screens – More buttons
Less “novel creativity” when it comes to primary and secondary driver control interfaces – and more “intuitive ergonomics”
Less embedded connectivity – just give us a simple Bluetooth interface and CarPlay Ultra.
Range is largely irrelevant 90% of the time when you charge at home – because long-distances should be covered by high-speed trains or rentable supplemental extended-range battery packs.
I also want to see mainstream affordable EV conversions of vintage ICE vehicles become more of a thing – which I don’t see much difference in from restomods with LS1 or Coyote swaps.
A couple things that the mainstream is doing that I’d like to see more of:
Level 2 driving systems such as Distronic should be more mainstream, but not sold as “Self-Driving”, which is not a thing.
Heads-Up displays.
If the numbers reported for the BYD Seal with solid state batteries today are anywhere near correct, I think I’ll quite look forward to Elon Musk no longer being the world’s richest man.
“What would you like to see in the future of cars?”
A regression in vehicle size and cost.
I want the future of cars to be the following:
-simple
-inexpensive to purchase
-as close to maintenance free as possible
-fully repairable with basic tools and minimal education
-lightweight and aerodynamically streamlined
-designed to last a human lifetime with minimal downtime
I’d like to see (or hear) all noise disappear, through a combination of quieter power trains, better seals, improved aerodynamics, and active noise cancellation in the cabin.
The car should be optionally self driving, so it can commute me to work or go to the store, but I can also drive it for fun.
Since everything is by wire, and the instruments are digital, I want downloadable profiles. Look and feel AND transmission, acceleration, and steering tailored to my desires, and maybe emulation packages where my car can pretend to be a mustang or a roadmaster or whatever, complete with noise and dashboard skins to look like the real thing.
I want real ergonomics with buttons and knobs. And voice commands that work 100% of the time. The knobs should be heavy and weighted and have an ever so slight little detent when you turn.
Swappable batteries. Run out of fuel? Pop in a new cell. And when your cells are old, upgrade to new battery tech. This should be doable without disassembling the car completely.
Components that aren’t directly in the path of physical wear (I.e. not wheels, brakes, suspension, and steering, but everything else in the engine bay and cabin) should be 100% reliable and maintenance free for 50 years.
Is that too much to ask?
I would like to see much more sustainability in cars. Figure out how to reduce tire wear. How about recycling battery materials at a volume where it becomes the norm? Make the fluids less toxic and more recyclable. I love my cars but cringe a bit when dealing with the environmental costs.
Widespread enough electrification that pollution from cars can be considered an afterthought, and that those of us who appreciate ICEs for what they are can be allowed to enjoy them in peace.
E Fuels replacing refined petroleum products.
A continued niche for analog, natural aspirated, simple vehicles. Touchscreens are fine, but no turbos or batteries thanks.
“E Fuels replacing refined petroleum products.”
You’ll have to fight the world aviation industry and militaries for it so good luck.
Not a 1985 brat.
3rd front speaker isn’t the future. The radio area too short for a normal din setup might be now the future given that stereo are effectively a old bad cellphone glued to the dash.
Kinda also want to see the 1.8l pushrod engine done with modern tech. I’m guessing you can get it close to 100lbs. Maybe the 4spd can be upgraded not to get stuck in 4th if you forget and stop in said 4th.
Lightweight, incredibly strong materials being used inexpensively at scale to produce beautiful shapes. Physical control interfaces. Interiors that aren’t a black cave of depression. An emphasis on balanced performance over 0-60. Oh, and all this goodness wrapped in an actual CAR.
Funny.
I offered the Autopian a story on this subject recently.
Haven’t heard anything so far.
I would really love to see what the electric version of an enthusiast’s car is. I mean something like an electric Miata – small, planted, as light as you can get it. The skateboard’s gotta go – Maserati already did this right with the Folgore (well, except that name), I don’t want to feel like I’m driving a CUV. Electric torque, instant throttle, low CoG, regen braking – there’s no reason an electric can’t put a smile on your face. Add steering that feels like it’s connected to something (either buy Fanatec or go back to hydraulics) and give me suspension that doesn’t pretend I’m gonna go off-roading. Two doors, two seats, bonus points if the top comes off.
More to the point, I really want to know what the car industry looks like once we’ve gotten past the Stellantification of Everything and the Blobby CUV Is The Only Car era. I’d also love to see what the tuner community for electrics turns out to be – I think we’re still early in this game, and I’d love to see what the equivalent of a turbo is for an electric (capacitors?).
And, just for completeness: PHYSICAL BUTTONS. Christ.
While there is more than one way to skin that cat, John Wayland’s Datsun 1200 “White Zombie” used a contactor bypass to function analogous to hitting the nitrous in a tuned ICE. 3,000A short-circuited to the dual series-DC motors, bypassing the controllers..
That’s awesome! This is what I’m saying – in the same way that ICE tuning optimizes air flow & fuel, get weird with the electric power trains! Replace the inverters, rewire the batteries, rewind the engines, see how much more juice you can pull and put to the ground. I feel like the tuner crowd hasn’t really cracked into the EVs yet – the next generation of kids to come up will do some wild shit with the kind of power they’re going to have access to.
A breakthrough in battery or fuel cell technology. Plus, more fabric interior upholstery! Cashmere in a BMW or wool in a Volvo is available today, but I’d love a regular Mazda with a fancy fabric interior. Less plastic cladding.
Oh boy, that was a swell video! Hands-off drivin’ and pushbutton livin’ and pre-digested food – you know – the future!
Seriously, though, I think there’s a lot to like about the current direction of development for EVs and driver assistance systems, and perhaps one day we’ll have true self-driving vehicles, but I’d always want to have the option of driving the vehicle myself. I think the major developments for the future need to be focused on three areas: 1) Improving the roads, especially the interstate system. Any real self-driving future is going to needs extremely high quality roads, and good roads benefit everyone. 2) A comprehensive and standardized EV charging infrastructure. 3) Much faster charging capability. Perhaps the solid state batteries will provide that for us, but charging speed is the real limitation; not range. IMHO, 250 – 300 miles of usable range is all anyone needs if there are well-placed and accessible charging stations where you can recharge in a few minutes.
Of course, that all has mostly to do with longer-distance trips. For intra-city transportation, I’d love to see reliable self-driving taxis and subway/light rail systems. And for large capacity inter-city travel: trains! I’d love to see a high-speed train system connecting major population centers and eliminating the need for small airplanes and short-haul flights.
As for design language, I’d like to see a return to the jet-age/space-age designs that we saw back in the late 50’s and 60’s.
I’d like passenger cars to be fewer in number, slower, safer, quieter, more electric, and out of city centers. And a bus stop a block from my house that will take me to a train stop that will take me to anywhere. All that’s gonna be a pipe dream for a minute here in Detroit though.
How about a robot EV taxi for door to door service? Would that work?
Free would be nice. Barring that, small, efficient and cheap truck.
Boats.
I wish I lived somewhere where I could commute by boat…
Work from home and live on a boat.
Stuff like Aptera and the Peel P50.
For long range vehicles make them ultra aerodynamic.
For short range in town vehicles focus on making them as small as practical.
I think it’s safe to say BEVs are the future, and while some feel the loss of the engine will mean the loss of the auto enthusiast I believe it’ll just mean greater focus on things like suspension and such when it comes to mods.
Everyman bespoke manufacturing.
As 3D printing and assembly line advances continue, I’d love to one day be able to get exactly the vehicle I wanted. Ironically (or not…it was the age of futuristic after all), it’d be a lot like going back to the 60s.
Now, we still live in the world of packages, but how cool would it be to be able to pick and choose many of your features?
Love this! My related dream is briningback coachbuilding. I can buy my skateboard platform from wherever and take it to my preferred body builder.
Something I genuinely didn’t know I wanted.
I think that’s the best all of us can hope for. For something to come into existence, that none of us ever saw coming, but are delighted by its existence nonetheless.
Or, I dunno, time travel plus a built-in soft-serve ice cream maker.
(rummage rummage, pop the top on Mr. Fusion) “she needs fuel.”
You have time travel.
You just get more fuel whenever you go back in time.
…and more ingredients to keep the ice cream dispenser at the ready.
Dammit, I’ve thought of this! <taps forehead>