What Is the Future of Cars and Our Mobility?
Shell Concept Car Courtesy of HVA
“The Future of Automobility” holiday window display was unveiled Wednesday at 432 Park Avenue. The display is curated by Stanford University Professor Michael Shanks of the Center for Design Research and the Historic Vehicle Association.
On display are the:
Shell Concept Car (2016)
It is said to be one of the world’s most efficient internal combustion cars. Spearheaded by Shell, the project challenged the limits of current technology. Together, Gordon Murray Design, Geo Technology and Shell created a compact and nimble city car with reduced weight and friction that achieves 89 mpg. This is its first New York appearance.
Courtesy of Shell
GM Firebird II (1956)
From sixty years ago — at the New York Motorama show in 1956, General Motors unveiled a dazzling vision of the future — a gas turbine family car with autonomous driving features guided by maps and a communication system displayed through television screens on the dashboard.
Courtesy of General Motors
The 1956 Firebird II concept car was one of the industry’s first vehicle concepts that explored automated driving. The concept had an electronic brain that connected to a future highway called the Safety Autoway, which was equipped with metallic conductor embedded in the roadway. The conductor would allow the car to drive in automated mode.
Benton Harbor (1896)
From one-hundred twenty years ago — this is the very first automobile built in Michigan. Fifteen years later, Detroit was the automotive capital of the world. This wasn’t evolution — it was revolution. It was disruptive technology that changed virtually every aspect of American life.
Courtesy of Antique Automobile Club of America Museum
Disruption! New York City went from horses to horseless in less than fifteen years. Disruption in automobility is again on the agenda. Will we be safer with driverless cars as first envisioned sixty years ago?
1896 Benton Harbor
Will we love cars with less weight and less room that use far less energy? How will companies collaborate to realize the power of less? These are some of the questions to contemplate as we face dramatic changes in The Future of Automobility.
The Center for Design Research at Stanford University is a community of scholars focused on understanding and augmenting engineering design innovation practice and education.
The Historic Vehicle Association (HVA) is dedicated to preserving and sharing America’s automotive heritage.
The window display was created in association with General Motors, Antique Automobile Club of America Museum (Hershey, Penna.), The NB Center for American Automotive Heritage (Allentown, Penna.) and Macklowe Properties with support from Shell.
