The Future Always Looks Like the Past, Until….

Not being a “car guy,” I’m unimpressed with concept cars that show the future of automotive design—especially as they suggest perpetuating of the basic paradigm that has been with us for 100 years: big, sleek, expensive compartments that run on gasoline and shuttle us and our belongings around.

Automakers are in the process of realizing, much to their horror, that the world is making sweeping changes to the overall line of thinking in transportation (which is why Uber is currently valued at $50 billion).  Car ownership will soon come to be regarded as a disease—and an expensive one at that; having a two-ton piece of steel in your garage 23+ hours a day with (on average) 0.25 passengers in it during the 45 minutes that it’s in use is simply bad economics: it’s a waste of money at the personal level, and it’s unaffordable environmentally.

Fortunately, our civilization is making excellent progress in figuring this all out, and replacing our personal hunks of steel on wheels with micro-rentals, ride-sharing, mass transit, e-bikes and other small electric vehicles charged with renewable energy, as well as a host of other transportation options that are just now being conceived.