Garage of the future?

[dgcate]

How about a "no maintence required" Porsche. That way, you don't need a garage or tools.

[bigrubberjeep]

No garage and no tools? What are you nuts? What about the hot neighbors Miata that need to have it's oil changed from time to time. How could you offer the services without tools?

[dcorday]

How about computer diagnostic equipment that can scan your car every time you park in the garage, that can let you know ahead of time that something is about to fail. This way you can fix it before your left stranded somewhere. It should also be able to see any weakness’ in the frame, and let you know of any new scratches or dings in the body.

[Porschekid962]

dcorday, didnt Kit in nightrider have a scanning system like that???
my garage of the future already exists, it is located in Flacht Germany!!!

honestly though what about this...

-all car parts are coated or charged in such a way to repel dirt, grease and all other forms of road grime.
-instead of painting the car why not build the exterior out of plastic. that way when a panel is scratched, cracked or otherwise you throw it out and put a new one on. your old part gets recycled, no need for harsh chemicals in paint.


in all honesty i hate to break this to you guys, i am a student at art center college of design. in about 50 years, most likely less the fossil fuel reserves of this planet will be gone. cars will no longer exist as we know them. alternative fuel sources and infrastructure has been being designed and worked into major companies long term projects for years. this change is inevitable. it is sad to think that my children will only know car racing from movies that they see. i dont want to sound like the voice of doom but its happening.

until then.......
hidden anti gravity pads in the car activate when in the garage eliminating the need for a lift and if your garage isnt very tall inside the floor underneath lowers itself so you can stand under the car.

a computer driven monitoring/diagnostic tool which projects three dimensional holographic visions of problems in the car and step by step instructions on how to repair it.

a single tool to which you can attach any socket, screwdriver, impact, blah blah blah.
think superpowerful dremel powered by lets say canola oil. when the tool is used it voices the torque you are applying and is also in sync with the aforementioned monitoring device to turn itself off if you exceed the prescribed torque limit.

this monitoring system is linked via satellite to romaing porsche parts semi trailers. when you need a part you simply push the order button, the truck nearest you with the part is alerted and it is delivered to your house. wayne, take heed and buy the patent on that!!!

more later perhaps.

[bigrubberjeep]

"a single tool to which you can attach any socket, screwdriver, impact, blah blah blah."

That had been in existance for over 2 million years. It's called

"The hand" and in case it get's smashed, you are given a back up, just dont expect it to be as precise!

[rcwaldo]

Originally posted by RickM
There ya go. A replicator or prototyper. Download a file from Porsche (or design your own part) and the piece is automatically machined in a compact Laser/Water/Mill/Lathe.

we have a machine at work that does exactly this....SLA technology (stereo lithography) used in rapid prototyping manufacturing.

basically a laser that burns a special resin, one layer at a time measuring about .004". Really kewl!

downside is the material is somewhat brittle..

One of the demo bits the company did for us was a weber carburetor cross section. Looked EXACTLY like the real thing, float, needle valve, everything!!

Chris

[Randy Webb]

I guarantee that we will be still be doing car racing -- as long as there is anything with 3 or 4 wheels on it. People race everything they can find -- themselves, skis, horses, dogs & sleds, cars, trucks, skateboards....

Also, I expect the use of photovotaic panels to generate hydrogen for future fuel cell cars. The garage of that future will have various hopup aftermarket kits to get more H flow from the convertor and to get more power from the elec. motors. It might have a PV panel on the roof to crack water and generate H if the onboard fuel cell conversion doesn't work out so well.