So what will motoring be like in the future? Say for instance in the USA or in the UK in the year 2035.

We have seen films like Total Recall, the Arnold Schwarzenegger version, where the cab is autonomous. Bladerunner, Minority Report, I Robot etc all paint the picture of us still using the car and not some form of mass transit system along out roads. We would still have our individual cars and we would still be in control but is that likely.

To drive or not to drive that is the question.

In all likelihood there will be the choice to drive or not to drive. It's becoming clear that Google and other companies want cars to be autonomous. Companies I think in the future will have the legal waiver that cars can drive themselves. It's likely that the technology will be so good that the cars will make very few mistakes themselves. I always remember a quote from the 80's kids film Daryl, "Computers don't make mistakes, people do". It's likely that due to consumerism the way cars will go if the technology is so good that the driving license will change. If you don't want to drive the car then, you simply get a operators license, something that tests or proves that you can control the car should it break down or malfunction. For instance can you maneuver car to the side of the road.

Car design.

There's every chance that technology companies will link up even more so with traditional car manufacturers. Just as some Google Nexus phones were made by LG, you could have some cars by BMW powered by Google, Samsung, Apple. It's unlikely that car manufacturers with their history of knowledge will disappear, but there is likely to be the buyout of car makers by technology companies. If cars are self driving, then it's true to say that design will likely become generic to a large degree, but with customisation as we do with our phones and those that build their own PC's. POD design will likely become more common place but with user customisation outside and in.

Car ownership for the masses.

We already have car ownership for everyone, but not everyone passes their driving test. If self driving cars are given the legal go ahead and we do have as mentioned above a simple operators license then it means a flood of consumers buying cars. This also means more cars not less on the roads. There will be people who want to have a manual car, a mix and a purely self driving car. We should always have the freedom not to need or use technology.

Whats in the tank.

Oil markets are as low as they have ever been. With Iran now in the market to sell oil and no nation really trying to hold onto its oil the market is pretty much flooded. Is that likely to change, probably not in the next 5 to 10 years. Google is a leading player in the self driven car, based in California which is one of the most environmentally stringent states, it would seem this will drive away from fossil fuels. Battery life in twenty years time is likely to be pain free. The time a charge lasts will be longer and the time to charge will lessen, so whats would be the downside for the general consumer simply wanting a car to go from A to B. I can envisage lots of parking bays with some form of contact less system, in the way Samsung charges its phones. The car simply looks up its inbuilt map, finds the nearest charging point and charges then back in service. Supermarkets, street parking etc all having contact less bays or for those old school a physical connecting lead.

A day in the life of a self driven car.

So picture a family mother, father, two kids with a 4 door pod style car. Father gets up takes his kids to school, he does n't need to the car could do it, but we ain't lost the human touch surely. Then goes to work. The mother has been working a night shift the car is outside her husbands work and is charging or is in a non charging bay if charged,(cars will be programmed to vacate a charging bay when full and collect owner or notify owner of new position when required). It's shopping day, the family shopping order is today, simply sends the car to the supermarket and the staff their put the families order in the boot and car returns home. After putting away shopping, she goes and collects kids and returns home. The father might car share home with someone elses car pod, there's likely to be an app where you can have some form of stepping stone mode of getting home. It's time for the mother to do her nightshift and the car takes her to work, and takes her home after her nightshift has completed.

For the single person who is not wanting to go down a manual car then they have the option of self driving car. In all likelihood tomorrows kids will see it as the only way to drive. They will have the freedom and ease of simply telling their car where they want to go and what time they need to get there by.

It's all one possible, theoretical thinking of the way in which motoring could be in the future.