It seems that everything changes radically in the consumer electronics field.  TVs have gone from big square cabinets to flat panels mounted on walls in the course of five years.  Computers made drastic leaps in speed every year, and now the single core processor has been phased out for two, four, or even eight processors working as a team, handling several complicated processes at once.  Every year, science fiction becomes more like science fact, except for one key area:  automobile technology.  Here are 11 car features everyone wants to see in the next 12 years.

By 2020, I expect at least some of the things on this list to be actual technology in consumer automobiles.  Thanks in no small part to rising gas prices, I think cars significantly less dependent on fossil fuels will take off.  That one seems a given.

There are already cars that practically hold your hand and park themselves now, so I can foresee some sort of automatic parking assistance becoming the next big innovation as well.  The sideways wheels for 90 degree might be a bit of a problem, considering the limits of steering systems, but the self-parking car will eliminate the desire for that level of control.

A lot of these requests would be rendered redundant by the self-driving car (unless, of course, you could toggle autodrive off like you could in the film Demolition Man).  Improved heads-up displays, finger-vein scanners, touch screens, voice commands, more information about the conditions around you, automatic blinkers that trigger when you merge or turn… all this stuff is meaningless if the car self-drives.  I can’t imagine my ever having that much faith in my automobile 100 percent of the time.

There’s still something to be said for the tactile pleasure of driving, too.  I love pushing the pedal down, turning the wheel, trying to honk my broken horn, pushing buttons and turning knobs to make the car do things… maybe it’s because I’m stuck somewhere around 5 years old mentally, but I love all the steps required to drive.  I love being actively engaged in the act of driving.  However, there is something to be said for being able to program a destination into your car, then kicking the seat back for a nap while your vehicle guides you from Atlanta to Chicago overnight.

Tags: cars, driving, flying car, innovations, future technology, hybrid cars, automobiles, concept cars

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