Topic: I wrote this 34 years ago nearly true today

[piersdad]

My bill please
“Thanks” from the waiters wristwatch sized computer my credit card was duly stamped.
We stepped onto the mobile conveyer and were whisked out to the entrance of the restaurant.
By this time our electric already found its own way by computerized electronic pathway buried in the road and arrived from the parking lot at the entrance of the place to pick us up.
The door of the car opened and so easily we stepped into the car . pressing the destination button on the dashboard sent us off in a programmed direction carefully computed to avoid  other traffic and give us right of way to our destination.
In what seems no time we were on the motor way and our driverless personal car was back on our suburban streets and home.
Out of the car once more it waited till we were inside and dutifully drove itself to its garage.
|Tomorrow is Sunday and we are off  for a picnic, not a pleasant thought as I may have to drive the car myself for the last 5 km to the beach.
Science fiction or will it be an essential part of life in the future
One thing is for certain the very best  cars of today’s research and development will seem like 1904 Cadillac in just 10 years time

[Ultra]

I sure am glad to have you hanging around this site sir.

 

[piersdad]

i intend to stay another 30 years  and collect a telegram from the queen at100
so i hope to see the results of some of my pioneering work.
my conzept car was what we thought would ideally suit this scene

[knightfan26917]

Out of the car once more it waited till we were inside and dutifully drove itself to its garage.

It's KITT!!!!


Wow, piersdad ... that is cool ... and darn near true in some cases.....



Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...Chitown #2 = 07/25/09
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"The more things change the more they stay the same" ... Kenny Chesney ... 'Summertime'

[metalshapes]

To be totally honest, the way new cars have develloped is really depressing to me.

In the late '50s there were cars like the all Fiberglass Lotus Elite,

Light, high performance, beautiful, efficient.


That could have been the way foreward.


But what we have now are little FWD's that weigh as much as a '70s musclecar, with warning stickers telling us about the dangers of the onboard safety equipment...

[piersdad]

But what we have now are little FWD's that weigh as much as a '70s musclecar, with warning stickers telling us about the dangers of the on board safety equipment...

in my city every 5 th vehicle is FWD
the excuses that the owners give for buying one are so pitiful that i could write a humorous skit about them.
recently a friend brought one and after a long search found a bit of rough ground to try it out.
        other wise he will never be able to use it as FWD  so for the next few years he will drag  an extra1000 kg of vehicle around the tar sealed roads for the next 3 years for 3 minutes of off road fun   

an other excuse is that they are higher up  and in fact a friend asked me to machine some spacers for him so that he could raise his body of his FWD a mere 30 mm     

And  "its a diesel and will save me money travelling" with the extra weight and road user charges it will actually cost more   

[metalshapes]

No, I meant Front Wheel Drive, not 4 Wheel Drive.

A friend of mine had a old Charger and his wife had some little economy Front Wheel Drive car.

He said he compared titles, and they weighed exactly the same...


We had a good laugh about that, but its sad really....

[neilshouse]

To be totally honest, the way new cars have develloped is really depressing to me.

In the late '50s there were cars like the all Fiberglass Lotus Elite,

Light, high performance, beautiful, efficient.


That could have been the way foreward.

I totally agree, imagine a car built using the same principles as the Elite but using modern technology and materials with an up to date efficient engine, even, dare I say it, a small turbo diesel, the economy would be amazing and it would still have decent performance due to it's light weight. 

The weight gains of modern cars is largely due to the ever increasing safety features that legislation now demands but a smaller, lighter car would be less likely to be involved in an accident as it would handle better and stop quicker.

Much better to avoid the crash than have airbags, seatbelt tensioners, etc, and an oversized overweight bodyshell make the accident unavoidable.