The Car: On Its Way To Becoming The Home

When a person goes to a car dealer to find the perfect car for their needs, the experience is a lot like buying a house. Which one uses the least amount of energy, is worth the cost, can survive a lot of wear, has room for the family, looks respectable, and has all the amenities one needs to feel secure and comfortable? All these are common questions that buyers of house and car ask themselves. Well, 10 years ago, no one would say they could live comfortably in their car (comfortably being the key word) in comparison to their home (let's ignore large vans used in the '60s and Winnebagos for commonality reasons). Nowadays, that's still unlikely, but the day where that statement will be wrong will soon be at hand. Cars today have internet for all the social access one needs (plus you're in a car, so...you can just drive places to be physically social), AC (both hot and cold), locks, better fueling systems (hybrids and whatnot), TVs, outlets used as power sources, and storage room. Now, as I look around my meager dorm room, the only things a standard car is missing are a fridge, bed, and extra storage. With the added benefit of being able to move your house, a car would seem like a wonderful home once a fridge, bed, and storage space were added. And it would be! We are not far from abandoning homes and just making car lots; houses would be torn down and replaced with designated parking lots. One would buy a space where you wanted to live and that'd be that. "Grocery shopping? Sure!"- And the house would be off towards to nearest grocery store. Sure, the idea would be much more complicated when fully drawn up, but the idea is undoubtedly plausible. "What if the kids wanted to go to a friend's?"- Walking would still be okay with a new traffic system, plus the parents can drive you there in the house. The point is, today's car is quite comfortable. With a way to store food, some more room for clothes, and seats comfortable enough to sleep in (my car seats are already quite comfortable; I'm sure a bed would be redundant in some cases), the car could the house. Hopefully, you, the reader, have already asked yourself by this time, "well, what about a sink and shower?" If you haven't, gross. Well, a couple things could happen. This is all hypothetical, but bathrooms could be communal (and not drive around); though I'm sure many would have a problem with that. Otherwise, I'm sure eventually bathrooms will be added to the car-home; it's already been done in Winnebagos. Once companies realize bigger hybrid cars are better, there will be a lot more options in creating a car-home.

And, of course, everyone has different priorities; some care more about space while others absolutely need seat warmers, and some need to have sports cars while others need a rugged car fit for all terrain. Here's a design that would fit the lifestyle of a single, adventurous driver: The Peugeot Capsule. This interesting vehicle is a "pint-sized one-seater with a satellite internet connection and a solar-assisted gas-electric hybrid drivetrain." It has internet access anywhere, for both social networking and emergencies in all-terrain accidents, and fits the lifestyle of a person who loves the outdoors (minus the bathroom and such). I would guess that in maybe 10 more years, there will be designs for car-homes. Homes on wheels that have everything a house has; a fridge, large TV, internet access, room for work, room for sleep, a bathroom, and space for clothes and other such stuff. They'd be like giant Winnebagos, but everyone would have one and lifestyles would change; not drastically, but in the manner that things are done. And there'd be great variety in size and add-ons to comply to the wishes of all consumers; single adults, families, college students, etc. The idea may seem crazy, but internet was first introduced to the public in the mid 1990s, so how crazy is it that internet is now becoming extremely popular in vehicles being made today? It seems like normal stuff to our generation because we are used to high tech innovations, but to the older generations, this is unheard of. So, to us, a world where people live in their cars full time may sound insane, but, hey, people already do it. The future just holds a grander scale version: a world where absolutely everyone would live comfortably in their car.

And, by having this option, the car industry will never die. The car industry can go in many directions: flying cars (which was just made, but they call it a "roadable aircraft"), house-cars, and maybe someday submarine cars (a tiny bit ridiculous, but you never know), but it will never stop making cars. Who's gonna invent bubble travel or teleportation, the travel of dreams and movies? Well, no one, because people will be forever blinded by the new cars always popping out. I don't dislike cars; I use mine whenever I can. But they are very unsafe in comparison to many forms of travel and if researchers focused on other modes of transportation, I'm sure many cool, unique, and safe modes of transport could be designed and invented. But, the other modes will have to wait until people finally realize that the car industry is taking over our society and our world.