So the foremost thing on my mind right now is the 2008 World Premier of our kid. I’m kind of glad there’s some time between now and then so I can wrap my mind around the concept of fatherhood and the fact that there’s going to be someone else living here at Rockland-Ave.
One of the things I think about (when I’m not wondering if Ted will inherit my red colored facial hair) is cars. Not just fast cars or well designed cars, but cars as they impact our society and enable personal freedom. I wonder why SUV’s are still popular, and why I still really want a Mustang.
Lately I’ve been thinking more about MPG and less about MPH. Sure gas is getting more expensive, and that effects our lives short term, but this time next year when gas is four or five bucks a gallon, how is that going to effect our lives then? Will it push our society to more fuel efficient rides, or publish transportation everywhere? Or is it going to cause some kind of Mad Max scenario?
The optimist in me hopes for automotive awesomeness from the auto industry… or from the companies that will become the industry. I want my next car to be both fun to drive and foolishly fuel efficient. I really like the idea of the Tesla Roadster, where the car is fast, looks slick, and is totally free of the burden of dead dinosaur-based fuel. This is the car I want to commute to work to. It’s totally battery powered, so you just plug it in at night and drive away in the morning.
I’d also like it not to cost almost 100 grand.
Shouldn’t this be the future? Dump gasoline (and the political shenanigans that go along with it) and use the existing power grid to get us around? We could just skip to the whole hydrogen powered infrastructure nightmare and use the existing energy delivery system we have in place. I have to believe that 120 volt cars will be one of the fuel choices we’ll rely on in the next few decades.
See also the Chevy Volt. Come on Ford! Don’t make an Expedition Hybrid, give me a plug-in Mustang!
Anyhow – I was trying to conceive the kind of car that Ted is going to drive, 17 years from now. I have to believe that the car hasn’t even been built yet, and probably won’t be built for the next few years. (I was five years old when my first car rolled off the boat.)
What fuel will power his car? What sort of crazy technology will be standard equipment? Will it still have an AM radio option then?
Of course part of me has to believe that he’ll just have a jetpack then because it will be the year 2024, and I’m pretty darn sure that’s the future, and I was promised jetpacks. Jetpacks and robots to do my bidding/chores.
So, what’s the future like for personal transportation? What will Ted drive when I reluctantly hand him the keys?
You really don’t know why you want a mustang? You who inherited your father’s red facial hair? You whose nana drove mavericks and pintos? Whose grandpa has Ford imprinted on his heart? You whose mother is horsey?
Maybe when Ted is older he’ll ride a plug in pony.
Can’t wait to squeeze him, gently.
xxoomomD
ps hope your ghost blogger posts this weekend.
My, my, my~ 2024!
Will I still have the Miata?
Let’ see.. Your grandmother had three Mustangs when I was a kid… a 65, 67 and a 72. Your Grandfather had more than I can recall, but the most remembered was a 68 Shelby GT500. In fact, somewhere, I have a photo of my parents matching pair of black 65 Mustangs in the driveway! My first Mustang was a 68 GT Mustang and, of course, the 71 Mach 1 we have today. I’d say that it is an inherited need to have one! Fuel efficiency was rarely mentioned back then.
He could come up to UNH and drive our Compressed Natural Gas mini-buses, or our full sized bio-diesel buses that are soon to be powered with the dinning hall’s old oil!