
Today I viewed a video of a driver-less vehicle navigating through the streets of Phoenix. It prompted an introspective look at my own future. As a child of the late 20th century, I imagined life in the digital era. Inspired by science fiction, I dreamed about countless wonders such as flying cars, intergalactic travel, and pizza-on-demand. As an adult, the reality of fully self-driving cars instills cautious optimism at best. In truth, I can’t shake the gnawing feeling that human beings are not ready for 21st century technology.
Future cars
Cars, SUVs, and the Future…oh my!

As a kid, I dreamed the future would be all about flying cars. As a parent, on a daily basis I witness the anarchy of shopping mall parking lots and think “nope”. In fact I’d much rather have armored plating and an abundance of airbags from head to toe. It’s not that I’m against some future incarnation of airborne vehicles, I just want people taken completely out of the equation driving said vehicles. Especially since the proliferation of inherently distracting gizmos have become standard equipment in most cars and SUVs. Automated vehicles would provide the freedom and safety to surf the web, text or video chat, work, or even take a nap. Yes, I like the nap idea don’t you? These thoughts and more informed my opinions of car manufacturers latest offerings as I walked the halls of the Jacob Javits Center at the 2015 New York International Auto Show.