where are you all getting this micro car stuff from.
Look at a Mini, then look at a contemporary supermini.
The Mini is minute, the supermini is huge by comparison.
in 50 years time, cars will be like supertankers, unless the trend for bigger heavier cars is broken
I assume that in 50 years time the much talked about hydrogen fuel cell might have finally made its appearance by then.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
As long as I get a twizzy numberplate thing and a bulletproof rear window protector...thing, I'll be happy.
|
Is that what you are going to spend your money on for being big brother winner Adam?
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
I'm already making a rudimentary bulletproof slidey thing. It's made out of cardboard at the minute but it's a working model. Plus - it blends in with the car quite nicely.
|
|
|
|
where are you all getting this micro car stuff from. Look at a Mini, then look at a contemporary supermini. The Mini is minute, the supermini is huge by comparison. in 50 years time, cars will be like supertankers, unless the trend for bigger heavier cars is broken
Definately, cars seem to be getting bigger, and bigger. I think we're heading in the same direction as America with their big cars, although there is still a small hope if the green people keep fighting. You only have to look at cars like the Mini, or even others, like the Fiat 500. Even small cars are bigger these days, but people still insist on getting HUGE cars.
The future is very worrying, and it probably won't be too long until we have some major fuel shortages. Unfortunately I am likely to still be around in 50 years, and still have many years ahead of me. Actually, cars will probably be the least of our worries in 2056, if a local kid isn't setting fire to your car, a terrorist will probably be trying to bomb it.
|
|
Surely it will have to stop soon? I honestly can't see modern cars getting much bigger without causing huge problems.
|
|
|
|
|
I believe the future for motoring lies in modular form.
You will buy an entry level car i.e. two seater, then when you can afford it you will buy the next module with more seats and so on.
I suppose you could hire sections when needed i.e. when holidaying you could attach more seats and load carrying area, then return them and the car reverts to more economical smaller version.
As for oil running out, as i understand there is enough shale oil (which is much more expensive to refine) for ,at the current usage , a thousand years, but i stand corrected if someone knows better.
|
|
Ah yes, shale oil. That reminds me, you can crack coal to get oil too, but IIRC the amount of coal needed to produce any worthwhile amount of oil is huge. In other words, we could still be using oil for a bit longer, but it will still be expensive.
|
|
Control of energy is paramount to those who control the world, so if they run off biofuel, you can expect some series of events that will have seen seizure of all farmland by the state, and if they run off nuclear power like a submarine you can guarantee that will be similarly controlled and rationed.
|
Sorry tp be a bore, but solar power will get cheap enough to take over from all other forms of power generation. Then it'll just be a matter of storage. At the moment, that's batteries (yeuch) but in the future, it'll be cheap enough to balance out the inefficiencies in creating hydrogen for car use.
I don't think the overall format will change. Yes, reps might only need one seat, but what about the weekend with their families? As for fuel cells, I suspect we'll end up using hydrogen either in internal combustion engines or in some other way not yet invented.
V
|
Just imagine what would happen if ,say, a Proffesor Bloggs tommorow discovers an addative,which,if added to water makes a combustable fuel.
And say Proffesor Bloggs desides to give his invention to the people, what would become of world order ?.
What else comes from Saudi Arabia ,Iraq etc etc ?.
|
Just by coincidence, I happened across this today:
h t t p : / / observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1854305,00.html
Will probably come to nothing, but it would be nice if it was the start of the next energy revolution!
--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
|
|
|
|
It may be true that 'Superminis' have got bigger, but in turn, a new 'City car' segment has taken over where the Fiesta used to occupy 20 years ago, so very little has actually changed with the size of cars. Nowadays, instead of a Fiesta, you buy a Ka, or in the case of Citroen, they have TWO models in the sub-supermini class, the C1 and C2.
Its about market postioning and creation. The idea that a Supermini is a small car is no longer the case. Supeminis have taken over the small family car segment, but calling them superminis makes people think they are getting something small, when infact, they arent. Look at the prices of the things - 12 grand for a supermini!
The Smart, while not quite perfectly executed, is a true city car, while cars like the Ford Ka, are what would have been regarded as superminis 20 years ago.
Over the years, the size of the cars in the various segments has increased and new segments have been created to replace the ones moved up in size.
I would hope there is far more development in making small cars lighter and less luxurious but at the same time, offering luxuries as options for those downsizing.
As I recall, several superminis have been offered with very high spec, such as the Clio Initiale, which when I looked at it, while not teh classiest car on earth, certainly would make coming down from a Laguna fairly painless.
|
if cars are going to run on alcohol can i put ny name forward to be chief exhaust sniffer?
ah yes definately a 2006 bouquet this one i would say from the outer islands of silly ,i get chocolate ,sultanas ,a touch of lemon,and the slight wiff of an acidic little number i cant just quantify even.....................
|
Bigger, heavier, plusher, safer, better specced, easier to drive, more idiot-proof, less involving, and with fun involving handling behaviour or straight-line speed completely removed from the agenda.
Double digit horsepower figures will no longer be feasible even in "small" cars due to kerbweights (Peugeot 207 is the first of many)
All feel eradicated from controls in favour of lightness and ease of use (happening already)
Oversteer eradicated by lawsuit fearing chassis designers (happening already)
Satellite tracking and monitoring (sold to the public as "all inclusive" sat nav / GPS, but automatically shops you for speeding, and links into the toll-road system). Systems will be factory fitted and integrated into the car's systems making removal/hacking near impossible. (The government would do this yesterday if they could make it work).
A 2056 Supermini will weigh 2000kg, seat 5 in 400 mile comfort, plus carry a weekly shop for four, and be the size of a current Mondeo. If you want a small, cheap, basic car from an established Western manufacturer, you will be even more stuffed than you are today.
Magazines will continue their double standards of advising peopl on one hand not to buy anything that's a bit noisy or basic, or without that fifth NCAP star, yet whinge and moan on the other that all the new cars they test are heavy and slow.
Highly unlikely to be powered by fossil fuels, or at least the derivatives in use today.
Oh, and motorbikes will be banned or have their pink fluffy dice cut off so heavily through emissions and safety legislation they will be rendered pointless.
I really, really want to be wrong on this by the way, but based on the last 10 years "progress" it doesn't look too good in my view.
Cheers
DP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
