Published on August 29th, 2016 | by Guest

Promised, But Not Delivered – Greatest Car Technology Fails

The auto industry has seen many advances in the past century. That being said, there have also been several potential products for the evolution of the auto that have not been totally successful. Here are some of the greatest car technology fails that the automotive industry has seen over the past century:

Aquatic Cars: Many movies have alluded to the possibility of a car that can both drive on roads and on water, even submerging, should the need arise. This has been a fantasy of spy movies such as James Bond and the like. Unfortunately, so far the concept of a floating car has not really come to fruition. Up to date, the most famous aquatic car is perhaps Gibbs Aquada – a surprisingly innovative and fast vehicle that could do 50 km/h on water. However, since the car was priced at a stunning $240,000 it hasn’t managed to take off and it was no surprise that consumers were not rushing to purchase it.
Electric Cars: Electric cars have been placed on the car market; however, they are quite expensive and are difficult to use on a practicable level. There has been an effort to place plugs for these cars in accessible locations to the general public, but there is still a tendency for the consumer to purchase cars that use gasoline.
Driverless Cars: There have been many trials relating to driverless cars. In fact, the idea of the driverless car does have several important implications on society that consumers should absolutely read up on. The primary concern is what would happen should these cars make a mistake and kill someone. This has raised many pertinent questions relating to the accuracy of a computer’s mind versus a human’s and whether the mediums are the same to make safe driving decisions.
Cars That Can Talk: Many movies have also designed cars that can talk; however, we have not seen these cars in the marketplace a great deal. Sure, we have seen cell phones on speakers and direction GPS systems in cars; however, never a car that could debate politics with us. In 1981, Datsun released the 810 Maxima that would make announcements in American English about whether the car needed fuel, but once again, the car could not actually have a real conversation. Cars that can actually converse could be something that car companies pursue in future years.
Cars with Toilets: A practicable concern for consumers who have to drive long distances is to find a car that has a toilet installed. In fact, Louie Mattar drove his 1947 Cadillac 10,000 km without stopping since the car had its own toilet installed. However, to date, this has not been considered in vehicle design in most major automobile companies due to the hygiene issues and practicability of actually installing a standard toilet in a car. One can never predict what the future will hold; however, it is not likely that cars with toilets will be the next luxury car design.
Nuclear-Powered Car: In theory, having a nuclear-powered combustible engine on a car must have sounded ideal on paper. In practice, it is too explosive to guarantee the safety of consumers. Ford attempted this technology, but it was not implemented in their designs due to the enormous liability Ford would face as a result.

There have been many innovative ideas in the car industry that have also been included in Hollywood films to entice consumers. With many of these ideas, the potential of implementing them safely into commerce is not feasible. Car companies have to weigh the potential of these innovations and the potential liability they have to the company, how consumers will respond, and whether they will endanger society. Reasons such as these are why these ideas have not been implemented as much into modern car designs as their inventors had previously hoped.

Author bio:

Grace Harrison is a blogger with a great passion for technology. She also enjoys driving and combines both these passion working for Divvy – a parking application for drivers.

Tags: car, fails, not delivered, promised, technology