Americans have been driving and riding in cars for over 100 years. Today, the United States ranks #1 in the world for cars per capita. Since the earliest days of the automobile, there has never been a shortage of stories, observations and funny facts that have to do with cars and car culture. Take a look at some of the predictions made over the last century.
- Like those early cars that used levers to steer, some designs for future cars do away with the steering wheel, using a joystick instead.
- In 1939, the San Antonio Light wrote about future cars that could be folded into a neat and tidy suitcase-sized package.
- In the 1950s, most Americans believed that by the year 2000, people would be driving flying cars that would fly at more than 100 miles per hour.
- In 1959, the Chicago Tribune published an article about the coming of drive-in supermarkets where housewives used their cars instead of shopping carts.
- In the 1960s, rumors circulated that the government was working on something called the Magic Beam Highway: an electrified roadway that powered and controlled cars through a system of advanced computers.
What are your predictions for car technology? By 2111, will transportation be teleporting or flying cars? The possibilities are endless, as technology is always advancing. Tell us what you think the future holds for automobile technology.
