1985 was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of the motor-car. On 20 April 1985 the London Times devoted a full page forecasting the design of a "popular family saloon" of the 21st century. That was 20 years ago but some details and sketches in the Times article are remarkably similar to today's Prius. For example the sketch (below) shows the digital speedometer and the nav screen (although it wasn't clear in the article whether this used GPS). The "future" car also has video pictures for the driver's rear view. But some features of the Times' car are not yet available, as far as I know. Will a future Prius have only a stick to control steering, accelerator and brakes? (No foot pedals or steering wheel). Will it have foam-filled, puncture proof tyres and a rain repellent plastic windscreen with no wipers? Will it have an independent electric drive unit to each wheel? Well, it's early days - we're only 5 years into the 21st century so the Times car could be here by 2090. The article begins by describing a future motorist's start in the morning: "A remote control has opened the garage door, unlocked the car and set the air conditioning giving cool air to the face and warmth to the feet, with pre-chosen temperatures. [he has a long-distance business call] There is no need to pore over a battered old road atlas...a video disc provides step-by-step instructions, either on a screen or by voice, or both...there is enough information to offer a choice of routes and to print out maps. During the journey the car radio will be automatically interrupted with the latest news of traffic hazards..." [Acknowledgements to Peter Waymark who planned the car and John Grimwade who illustrated.]
