The film was set in Los Angeles in 2019 and depicts a world where technology has no limits. We see androids that are indistinguishable from humans, futuristic weaponry and most importantly, flying cars. Back in the 80’s it was common for film makers and writers to envisage what the world would be like from the year 2000 onwards. Films such as ‘Back to the Future: Part Two’ introduced us to the hover board and ‘Total Recall’ introduced us to robot driven cars. It seems as though we are miles away from this type of technology, but believe it or not, we are closer than you think.

The Google Car

Only Google have the time, money and bravery to create this driverless car. It uses the latest technology to take us one step closer to a future without car accidents.

Only time will tell whether this utopia will come to pass – and, indeed, whether motorists will be prepared to surrender the pleasures and frustrations of life behind the wheel.

The Flying Car

The Terrafugia Transition, a light aircraft that can convert into a road-legal automobile, is to go into production after being given a special weight exemption by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The car is expected to retail at $194,000 (£129,000) and 70 people have already put orders in for the first ‘Flying Car’

Still a long way off from the sleek designs of the flying cars seen in ‘Blade Runner’, but it’s a good start.

The Robot-Driven Car

As seen in the 1990 smash hit ‘Total Recall’, Arnold Schwarzenegger enters a taxi that is driven by a robot.

Scientists are already developing the next generation of robot-driven cars and predict they could be shuttling humans around by the year 2030.

Before they are seen in everyday civilian life, they are expected to be deployed in the battlefield, where they can deal with roadside explosives and surveillance thus reducing the number of human casualties.

The ‘Car that runs on Air’…Car!

Developed by Moteur Development International in Luxembourg, the ‘Air Car’ runs literally on thin air.

Compressed air is stored in fibre tanks. The expansion of this air pushes the pistons and creates movement. The atmospheric temperature is used to re-heat the engine and increase the road coverage. The air conditioning system makes use of the expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion and the fact there is no pollution, the oil change is only necessary every 31.000 miles.

Car Insurance of Tomorrow

There are some insurance companies that are pioneering new and futuristic ideas to help lower premiums. Insure the Box, is a car insurance company that attach a clever little telematics device, known as a Clear Box to your car. The Box enables the insurance company to measure how you drive and how far you drive. This is helping reduce the cost of insurance for many as, you only pay for the miles you need and being a good driver earns you additional miles.

Aviva have a “Pay As You Drive” insurance policy which allows premiums to be calculated based on when, where and how far you drive your vehicle. A Global Positioning System (GPS) device the size of a DVD case is fitted discreetly to your car then the journey data collected from the in-car device is used to calculate your premium, which reflects your unique driving patterns. The data is then converted into a monthly bill, which provides details of each element used to calculate the premium. With premium prices from as little as 1 pence per mile, depending on when and where you drive, Pay As You Drive insurance could cut your motoring costs, particularly if you drive less than eight thousand miles per year.

The latest SmartPhones, The iPad and other Android Tablets are like having a PC in your hand. They now have the power and the flexibility to allow consumers to browse the internet at their leisure wherever they are, thus allowing them to purchase their car insurance on the move. Car Insurance comparison sites are now using the technology to their advantage.

The Possibilities are Endless

The ideas of scientists, inventors and writers hold no bounds. The possibilities for the future of the motor industry are only limited by our own imaginations. Who knows we could see ‘Transformer’ type cars, that change between household robot to household car, or a car that fits in your pocket only to grow in size when placed on the ground and a button is pressed as seen in the film ‘Dragonball’.

The FT reports the two companies are considering a partnership that would see Mercedes-Benz provide engine technology in exchange for Aston Martin developing and building Maybach vehicles. The thinking is Aston’s boutique manufacturing expertise will allow it to build the low-volume, big luxe sedan more cheaply than Mercedes-Benz could. Notably, Aston’s deft use of outsourcing—passing off production of the Rapide to Austria’s Magna Steyr, for example—has been an important strategy in keeping costs down and quality up. What’s more, without Ford’s backing, Aston Martin needs a source for its next-generation engines, and Benz surely has the kind of gear Aston needs for the power-plus-efficiency age.

What’s unspoken here is that Aston Martin might infuse the excruciatingly slow-selling Maybach with much-needed panache. Maybach may be high in luxury but it’s monumentally lacking in X-factor. Aston’s got more X-factor than it knows what to do with. A perfect match?

Mercedes-Benz and Aston already share an interesting business connection. Aston’s majority shareholder is Kuwait-based Investment Dar, and Kuwaiti Investment Authority owns seven percent of MB’s parent company Daimler AG. Ford still owns a 15 percent stake in Aston Martin.

And don’t forget that Aston Martin’s Lagonda SUV concept was based on the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class platform. Rumors have swirled as recently as this past October that Aston CEO Ulrich Bez has already greenlit the Lagonda for production.

Either way, you know an announcement is coming, if not by the Geneva show, then by Frankfurt in late 2011. Maybe Aston will even pick up a new V12 in the bargain.

Renault has provided a sneak preview of its new concept car, due to be unveiled at the Paris auto show at the end of September.

The bright red coupe is called DeZir. The name is pronounced something like “desire” — cue French accent — and the Z comes from zero, as in zero emissions, thanks to its electric drive. Renault and Nissan have committed to offering multiple models of electric vehicles, and this is one.

But the zigzag Z makes the word look Dutch — a sign perhaps of the influence of the French company’s new Dutch design chief, Laurens van den Acker, a veteran of Mazda and Ford. This is the first car to appear since Mr. van den Acker, 44, took over last year from the longtime design head Patrick Le Quément.

Renault says the car offers hints of the new face of Renault design and a first statement of the philosophy behind it. The front presents Renault’s diamond logo in a larger, chromed version, set inside a dark grille with horizontal accents. The rear is a cave of more inset horizontals, like a bizarre topographic map of some sort. There is no rear window; video cameras take its place.

The body is made of carbon-fiber. An electric motor is set midbody, and the batteries are installed behind the seat and cooled through side and front air inlets. Zero to 62 miles per hour is advertised at five seconds. Range is listed at around 100 miles.

The keynotes of the new look, visible in the DeZir’s swelling front fenders and rear haunches, are said to lie in three adjectives: simple, sensuous and warm.

The DeZir is a long way from the angular, oddball designs of Mr. Le Quément. He gave Renault the lovable small Twingo but also vehicles that looked as strange as their names sounded, like the Avantime two-door van and the Vel Satis sedan.

The DeZir supplies hints of Mr. van den Acker’s background: there is a touch of his first employer, Audi, in the bladelike side vent, which echoes the Audi R8. The swirly body shapes and scissor doors that open in opposite directions, said by the company to suggest “yin-yang style harmony,” remind us of the near mystic or Zen Nagare look from his days at Mazda.

But the company said that the car also represented “falling in love.” Call it French stereotype or core competence, falling in love is rendered in the exterior through sensual curves and passionate red paint, credited to the car’s lead exterior designer, Yann Jarsalle. “Love is a sentiment that lifts you, gives you wings,” said Stéphane Maïore, the lead interior designer.

But falling in love is only the first step. Renault’s news release said the company’s new design philosophy was about marking the stages of life: “This vision also builds on the bonds that are gradually forged between the brand and its customers at watershed moments of their lives, such as when they fall in love, start to explore the world, found a family, begin to work, take time to play and attain wisdom.”

With the company offering up the first step — falling in love — nearly three full months in advance of the company’s hometown car show, look for other “stages” to be shown at the Paris fair or before.

This is the next generation of super sports, leisure and business travel. Its not a flying Car but more a road-going plane, helicopter and boat designed by the Aerospace Industry.

A unique and cutting edge opportunity to experience the ultimate in multi-faceted transportation developed for the most discerning independent traveler. Watch this space…

For further information please visit www.halointersceptor.com or www.pauley-interactive.com

Italdesign Quaranta

The Italdesign Quaranta was designed to celebrate Italdesign Giugiaro’s forty years of business in styling and technological research. The concept was inspired by the Bizzarrini Manta concept from 1968. But in reality the Quaranta has a lot more in common with the Volta concept created by Italdesign for Toyota in 2004.

The Quaranta uses a 3.3 litre V6 Toyota engine with Hybrid Synergy Drive to provide 268 horsepower and 212 lb-ft of torque. The innovative aspect of this engine lies in the ability of the electronic control system to regulate the power distributed by the electric motors to the wheels, making the clutch-gearbox-transmission block superfluous.

The batteries which power the electric motors are located between the engine compartment and the cockpit. These are replenished by the solar panels positioned on the roof and through regenerative braking. The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system also includes the E-CVT Electronic-Continuously Variable Transmission, an automatic planetary gear transmission with ratios varying infinitely as speed changes. This power source and transmission system gives the concept a rapid 0-60 mph time of just over 4 seconds as well as a massive 621 mile range.

Access to the Italdesign Quaranta’s cabin is “step-in” via an upper door incorporating the side ones. At the touch of an electric button, the door opens upward while regulated by proximity sensors for safety.

Inside, the most striking features are the central driving position and multi-control steering wheel which houses all the vehicles driving and control functions on the spokes.

The dashboard has been conceived with a sporting, modern look, with clean-cut details matching the style of the exterior, and equipped with a vast array of instruments. These are organized on two levels: the screens of the side and rear TV cameras are positioned on the upper level, with particular attention to the left-hand view mirror, useful when overtaking; the lower level is dedicated to the management of the vehicle. The drive-panel also includes a visor for X-ray sensors for night driving.

A company planning to build a hybrid car plant in Baldwin County today made a pact with a well-known Italian firm to design those vehicles during a splashy ceremony in Montgomery.

Representatives of Hybrid Kinetic Motors and Italdesign Giugiaro signed a contract for the styling and engineering of a line of hybrids that are slated to be produced in Alabama starting in 2013.

Italdesign Giugiaro has worked with major automakers around the world and has developed more than 200 car models over the past 40 years.

Red carpet, spotlights and music marked Tuesday’s ceremony, which culminated with the unveiling of the Quaranta concept car designed by Italdesign Giugiaro to mark the firm’s 40th anniversary. It’s a 156 mph supercar powered by a hybrid system.

The Quaranta was shown in Montgomery as an example of the style and engineering that will be a part of the Alabama-built hybrids, said CT Wang, CEO of Hybrid Kinetic Motors.

Many people think hybrid vehicles are small with limited horsepower, but “the hybrid can be exciting,” he said.

Media from Europe and Asia attended the ceremony, along with local and state leaders including Gov. Bob Riley and Lieutenant Gov. Jim Folsom.

Hybrid Kinetic Motors’ founder and chairman is Yung Yeung, a former Chinese auto executive.

If you’re thinking of a fun minicar, the 2010 Audi A1 could offer something unique in its c­lass: AWD. The Mini Cooper has front-wheel drive, and the 2009 BMW 1-S­eries will have rear-wheel drive.

2010 Audi A1 Release Date: To be announced.

First Test Drive: Is spring 2009 too much to hope for?

2010 Audi A1 Prices: They’re a long way from being finalized, but will be set to avoid stealing sales from the Audi A3, which currently runs in the $25,400-$34,000 range. We’ll go out on the proverbial limb and predict A1s will start around $22,000 and top out around $28,000 for loaded AWD versions.

The 1938 Buick Y-Job is claimed to be the first concept car in history.

which had concealed headlamps and prefigured later Buick design motifs.

Designed by Harley J. Earl (Earl is credited as being the father of the concept car approach), the car had power-operated hidden headlamps, “gunsight” hood ornament, wraparound bumpers, flush door handles, and prefigured styling cues used by Buick until the 1950s.