What Will Cars of the Future Be Like?

A decade or two from now, there will be a lot of changes that will happen to our driving lifestyle. This is due to the fact that driving has been one of the main culprits of the so-called global warming. If anything, manufacturers have been investing time, money, and effort in researching and experimenting with new vehicle models that are more environment-friendly and less dependent on gas. Eric Adams (CNN 2007) believed that three trends will emerge on the future of cars: the safety features, alternative fuels, and automation.

SAFETY FEATURES

Some groundbreaking vehicle models already exist. For example, Mercedes Benz has a radar that will sense if a car is likely to crash. It will automatically w0rk the brakes. Volvo, according to Adams, flashes a warning red bar if you're driving and there's something amiss. Today, there are actually advanced models that are equipped with cruise control systems that will keep you from rear ending other cars. And if you think you need to take your driver's test again, maybe you should get a Honda model available only in Europe. This car warns you if you're drifting off your lane.

What else is cooler than a car that knows how to park itself? Whatever parking skills you learned will be rendered useless when you drive a new Lexus model with camera that assesses the distance in a parking lot. With just the push of a button, it will do the parallel parking for you.

IF CARS COULD DRIVE BY THEMSELVES....

What if your car can sense the condition of the road ahead of you and tells you to stop and take a different turn? Adams said cars of today are continually evolving to be able to do something like this in the future. If you're starting to overspeed, the cars of the future will tell you that you need to slow down. Also, if you're in the habit of talking on the phone or putting on makeup while driving, maybe this is some good news: In the future, there will be cars that will take over the wheel for a few minutes so you can finish your distracting task.

If cars could park by themselves, is it possible that in the future we can have cars that drive by themselves? According to Steven E. Shladover (Deputy Director, Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways), "Based on more than a decade's research at California PATH and other institutions, it is most certainly a genuine prospect for operations on controlled-access freeway lanes." Note: Controlled-access freeway lanes. This brings us to the question...

WHAT ABOUT ROADS OF THE FUTURE?

A year ago, there has been news of the government planning to build several subways/trains connecting many states all over the US. If this is true, then we will have to own less personal cars and travel through mass transit system instead. But in the future, there is also a likelihood that a huge road infrastructure will "pave the way" for a different type of driving. For example, high-speed tunnels that give access only to special types of cars which connect to the rest of the controlled traffic. Which means it will be possible to get from Los Angeles to New York faster when driving your car than taking a plane flight.