Some imaginative new features that would make your car go from zero to... well, hero!

This hub sprung from a conversation I had with my 14-year-old son in the car the other day. He began the verbal exploration by saying, “Dad, wouldn’t it be neat if….” and proceeded to make an off-the-cuff suggestion about a cool idea that could make my driving experience better. I ran with it and we spent the next 20 minutes scouring our intellect and imagination to come up with other such like ideas. He came up with several only to have me inform him that some cars already have ice-coolers in them, computers in the dash and memory seats. But we did come up with some features that we concluded were absolute must-haves on our future vehicles. So here they are, in no particular order…

This was the one that started it all. My son saw me keep raising and dipping my headlights and asked me what I was doing. I explained that I raised my main beam lights so that I could see farther down the road but then had to dip them so as not to blind drivers coming the other way. His response was to suggest a night vision windshield. The concept would be that wherever you look through the windshield (and also other windows) you would be given the green-style night vision display as used with night vision goggles. Everything would be illuminated. We would still need marker lights on cars to identify the parameters of the vehicle but the need for headlights to show the way would be successfully eradicated. Of course, it would be an added bonus that it would look pretty darn cool too!

Imagine if, at that exact moment when, either by a slip of your own concentration or by the stupidity of another driver, you are about to collide with another vehicle or object, just such a collision could be avoided. Maybe if not avoided, then damage negated. That would be the case if all vehicles were fitted with deflector shields. Kind of like the deflector shields that Captain Kirk used to raise and lower at will on the USS Enterprise, but on a smaller scale! Every vehicle would be fitted with such a system so that were contact with another car, object or even person imminent, the system would self activate and provide an invisible, soft barrier to cushion the impact. Voila! No more dented fenders or even broken limbs from pedestrians struck by moving cars. The reaction time of a human would not be good enough to engage the system so it would have to be self-monitoring.

Some days we are in a happy mood, some days sad, some days melancholy… you get the idea. In the same way that we change our computer desktop wallpaper, what about if we could change our car wallpaper to reflect our mood or interests? The entire exterior shell of the car would one large monitor screen that was changeable via the in-dash computer console. You could upload solid colours to it, photos of family or memorable events, or basically anything that reflects what you feel that day. The options would be endless. I wouldn’t suggest changing slideshow images so as not to confuse other drivers. This could then continue inside the car and the whole interior could be changeable. You’ve always wanted leopard print seats haven’t you?Well you could have them for a day, a week, forever or the two minutes until got bored of them. Just imagine the endless possibilities here…

If you’re like me you might feel a twinge of jealousy when you see the other guy driving his cool convertible in the summer with his freshly shampooed locks flowing in the wind, one arm around his stunning wife. I have the stunning wife, but I am still missing the convertible. I have the solution. Imagine with me if every vehicle was a convertible. That’s right, each car would come standard as convertible but it would be equipped with an invisible roof shield, like a bubble, that could be instantly engaged at the press of a button. Being invisible, it would not take away anything from the visual effect of a convertible vehicle but it would suffice to protect from rain, wind, bugs, bird droppings and other equally unpleasant missiles. Of course, if you enjoy the fresh air it can be disengaged as fast.

Those are the first ideas that were hatched up by my 14-year old and myself in the space of 20 minutes. I’m sure readers of this hub can come up with many other such imaginative ideas. Put your creative thinking hats on people…