The Germans and Japanese are pretty close on steer by wire, as strange as it sounds....there is a component called Active Steering that will steer the vehicle (to some degree) for you if it senses the car is starting to swerve.

Brake by wire...MB already uses that. Very poor brake feel, and braking is not linear like you have with a standard system. They have had many recalls/TSBs on it.

Mercedes is trying to develop a system that senses when you are going to crash into something and apply the brakes automatically. Just imagine if that thing ever fails

They promised us flying cars! I want my flying car!!!!

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads...

If it were my world we would be all reverting back to stick shifts

But IMHO the future is NOT hybrids.

If you want to look 10 years into the future, look what Germans have now. My aunt just got a CLK Benz, 7 gear tranny You can't even feel when it shifts, how lame is that. I like v8s with shift kits.

On a side note, last weekend I rode in a turbo 99 Trans AM! The guy set a $100 bill on the dash and said when the light turns green grab the bill and you can have it. I didn't get it. If I had my way thats how all cars will be in 10 years. They will probably just be hybrids with 300 hp.

Porsche has electric assist steering...thats as far as i feel that technology going in the next 10 years...

more active computer controlled suspensions like Bose'* system or the now in production Magnaride in GM'* using ferrofluid...

More Hybrids will apear however they may be used more to "boost" normal engine power and be primarily used in low load stop and go driving...

Direct injection common rail Diesel engines will become more commonplace and can run on bio diesel...

direct cylinder injection on a gasoline engine, will come out on at least one manufacturer'* car

cars might be made with one singe "central" body/powertrain control computer
or CAN buss comunication will alow fewer components...

Turbochargers will be used more extensivly on manufacturer'* engines as they have better thermodynamic efficiency

the iron/boron metal particle fueled engines will get developed and though they may not be practical on the roads) may be used in a mars/moon rover that is fueled by mining amounts of iron/boron
and is relativly cheap to maintain/function in that atmosphere (mars has a small amount of oxygen in the atmosphere or as a backup to solar/electric power)

thats what i can come up with for now...

"one of they'* days, Alice....BAM! to the moon!"

James

Agree with the bio-deisel. The use of it will explode in the next 10 years.
And appearantly Bose is developing a suspension system that uses electrical impulses that can "sense" a bump in the road and adjust the shocks before you can even feel it. Can't wait!

Bose already has it done, if you want to learn more about it, its in a Popular Science a year or so back.

Quasiturbine engines will break out eventually. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/quasiturbine.htm Much more efficient than the IC engines we have now.

That and all transmissions will be SMG and 5+ gears.

Hybrid will die once those cars get to the 100k mark and start needing extremely $$$ repairs.

Why is the future NOT hybrids?

And the quasiturbine engine is still an internal combustion engine, technically.

i meant the piston IC engines we have now. You know what I meant.

Hybrids are too complicated. Just wait till they start getting into the 100k range, and start costing more than the car is worth to repair. Its a rube goldberg of a drivetrain.