Lewis Shaw
Let me start with a statement that might not be too well received by the majority of drivers: most of today’s cars are boring. We have the same looks, the same engines, the same enhancements all over the place. It’s almost like the supreme goal of car manufacturers would be uniformity – we have the same variations of the same categories roaming the streets, with the only thing that changes being the brand. This is perhaps one of the reasons why so many of us love classic cars: they were built in a time when cars had personality.
Let me continue with another statement that might cause some of you to shed a tear: things are unlikely to improve in the future. Today’s cars may have lost their personality but we can still drive them. This is something we might miss in the near future when cars become smart, self-driving and quasi-intelligent appliances.
Driving to work will be very different in the years to come. Just imagine waking up to your smart alarm telling you not only the time but the news, the state of the weather, and the sports results from last night. Then your smart coffee machine makes you your triple mochaccino macchiato (pumpkin spice flavored around Halloween, of course) while you get dressed. You leave the house with your phone in one hand and your coffee (or is it?) in the other, go to the garage, where your smart car waits for you with the (electric) engine started, and the seats heated to your preferred setting. You put your phone in the dock, say the password, sit, and give the command “Take me to work, please”.
As the car leaves the garage, you sit back and think of how you can spend the time you would usually spend driving. You load your favorite 7 Sultans blackjack app, and play a few hands, completely unaware of your surroundings. You remember when you actually had to use your hands to drive and to play blackjack at the 7 Sultans. Those were the days, you think, when you still needed a smartphone to go mobile with 7Sultans. By that time, everything around you will be smart and connected – you will be able to play 7 Sultans games at your fridge’s display if you want to.
Driving a car to work on a daily basis might seem like a chore today, yet it’s as much driving as many of us get in a busy week. Imagine how much you will miss holding the wheel, honking the horn, and hearing the engine roar as you push the pedal. All this will be lost if our cars evolve in the same direction they do today.
