Science fiction movies and TV shows have always been populated with fantastically futuristic cars. These automobiles could interact with the person behind the wheel or even drive without the help of a human. Even traditional-looking cars of the future were equipped with smart technology you never thought would become a reality. These days, the car of the present is beginning to resemble these “cars of the future.” While we may not be headed toward floating roadways and hover cars, we're going in a decidedly futuristic direction with some of these upcoming car technologies.
Alternative Fuels
Hybrid vehicles have been around for some time now, and there’s a dedicated subculture of biodiesel and ethanol enthusiasts out there. Companies like Tesla aim to take the electric car off the bench and put her into the game in coming years. Its sporty Roadster design electric car is currently the only highway ready electric vehicle in production. With the current debate on using food crops for fuel getting louder, electricity may be the wave of the future when it comes to powering cars. Combine a fully electric car with zero-emissions recharging stations that run on wind or solar power, and you have a car that’s not only futuristic, but helps take care of our future.
Collision Avoidance Systems
In the mid 1960s, only about half of the states in the U.S. required that cars have front seat belts, and usage laws didn’t pop up until the mid 1980s. Safety these days means front and side impact systems (air bags), anti-lock brakes and stability control, among other things. Despite that, there are still more than 35,000 auto fatalities per year in the United States. The future of car safety is looking promising. Volvo, a company long associated with setting the bar for safety standards, is developing a system that uses radar and lasers to ensure that a safe distance between vehicles is maintained. So far, the technology has proved effective in lowering the speed of impact during a crash by up to 18 miles per hour (28.9 kilometers per hour), and avoiding low speed fender benders altogether.
Coppied by http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1502/5-Most-Important-Upcoming-Car-Technologies
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