Krossblade SkyCruiser
A new flying car, the Krossblade SkyCruiser, is not like any other flying car. While folding wings are pretty common among these car/plane prototypes, the SkyCruiser has a Transformer-like power to reconfigure itself in mid-air. (Video)
Will the automobile keep its soul as the industry transforms itself?
At the 1964 New York World’s Fair automakers were center stage. General Motors exhibited the Firebird IV concept car. GM explained how it, “anticipates the day when the family will drive to the super-highway, turn over the car’s controls to an automatic, programmed guidance system and travel in comfort and absolute safety at more than twice the speed possible on today’s expressways.” Ford introduced a vehicle for the more immediate future: the Mustang. With an eye toward the segment that would later be named the baby boomers, the Ford Division’s general manager (a not-yet-40-year-old engineer named Lee Iacocca) explained that the car brought “total performance” to a “young America out to have a good time.” Ford estimated it would sell 100,000 Mustangs during that first year; in fact, it would sell more than 400,000.
Continue reading… “The future of the auto industry”
Tube transportation – ET3
By Jared Lindzon: The average transportation speed of American citizens was 4 miles per hour in the year 1850. The primary mode of transportation then was a combination of walking and horse back.
Continue reading… “The future of transportation: How humans will reach an average speed of 250 mph”
AreoMobil
At the Pioneers Festival in Vienna last month, AeroMobil, a Slovakian startup, unveiled the thing that we have all been dreaming about since we saw that first episode of the Jetsons while still wearing diapers: The flying car. (Pics and video)
Continue reading… “Slovakia’s AeroMobil unveils a flying car”
A concept image of the interior cabin of a windowless plane.
If a window seat on a flight makes you nervous, you might want to avoid a new kind of plane that could fly in as soon as a decade. (Video)
Continue reading… “Futuristic windowless plane would let passengers see the world around them”
Environmental benefits are not the biggest attraction to electric cars.
People love to categorize things. Sometimes people categorize too quickly and too simply. Electric cars are linked to their environmental benefits and being green, but the electric cars’ performance and convenience benefits are the biggest electric car attractions for most consumers.
Futurist Thomas Frey: Business owners today are actively deciding whether their next hire should be a person or a machine. After all, machines can work in the dark and don’t come with decades of HR case law requiring time off for holidays, personal illness, excessive overtime, chronic stress or anxiety.
Continue reading… “101 Endangered Jobs by 2030”
Chinese consumers are more interested in autonomous driving technology than anyone else.
The auto market in China is having an increasingly important effect on the bottom line for all automakers worldwide as it continues to grow. Just look at examples like General Motors’ strong recent growth or Porsche’s expanding sales. In addition to being vital for business, some industry watchers think the nation’s huge consumer force might just make it the premier place for automatic driving technology to prosper more quickly than in any other market.
Continue reading… “China is more eager for self-driving cars than western countries”
Hendo Hoverboard
Whenever you talk about hoverboards, the first thing that usually comes to mind is that awesome scene from Back to the Future Part II. It is now one step closer to reality. Arx Pax, a California startup, just built a real, working hoverboard. The company is attempting to crowdfund the Hendo Hoverboard as a proof of concept for its hover engine technology — it’s not quite the floating skateboard Marty McFly rode, but it’s an obvious precursor to the imagined ridable: a self-powered, levitating platform with enough power to lift a fully grown adult.
Continue reading… “Hendo Hoverboard: The world’s first real hoverboard”
Not all airlines are created equal when it comes to legroom.
Legroom has become the most appreciated feature when traveling, yet it is quickly disappearing on most airplanes. Use these graphics from Conde Nast Traveler and Cheap Flights to find the major airlines with the most legroom. (Graphics)
Continue reading… “Which airlines offer the most legroom?”
A two-way communication platform would allow plug-in electric vehicles to work with power grids.
Ford Motor Company and seven global automakers have joined together for a first-ever test of technology that will allow utility companies to communicate with plug-in electric vehicles via the cloud, an advancement that would help manage energy use and improve the efficiency of the power grid.
Continue reading… “Plug-in electric vehicles to communicate with electric companies via the cloud”
Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser
The head of Volkswagen’s powertrain development, Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser, thinks that electric cars with over 300 miles of range aren’t too far off. The foundation of his argument is that the energy density of electric car batteries has been improving rapidly and will continue to do so.
Continue reading… “Electric cars with 310 to 373 miles of range are possible by 2020”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.