Predicitions for the near-future for cars
 

Just wanted to have some fun hearing what people are thinking we are going to see in 5-10 years. I don't want to talk about 'the death of the v8' -I'm talking more basic stuff that will apply to most cars.

Prediction 1: Alternator goes bye-bye. Within 5 years, the alternator will get replaced on mainstream cars by regenerative braking plus a small generator. This will run all accessory power and do away with the belt system items netting 1-2 mpg and 5+hp.

Prediction 2: All non-specialty cars will have at least a super mild hybrid system with a small motor that will assist to get the vehicle moving. By 2014. 1-2 mpg, 100lbs to all vehicles.

Prediction 3: Predictive cruise control becomes common in 5 years, mandated in 7 and will include lane change drift warning and autocorrection, and leads to an assisted drive mode that functions like autopilot. This will be available in Europe in 5 years.

Prediction 3a: Safety regulation and Cafe will start to realize they conflict with the goal of making cars both safer and lighter. The Car Czar will get some sort of oversight of both portions of the issue.

Prediction 3b: Safety through additional weight will hit the end of the road in how far you can go that direction. Expect mandates to have additional safety nannies plus improvements in avoidance technologies. Some examples: autobraking for yellow lights, speed limits transmitted to your vehicle so your vehicle will make annoying beeping noises when you exceed speed limits, etc.

Prediction 3c: Expect an expansion of the program to crush older cars that don't meet safety/mgp criteria. It will mainly be billed as safety saying crush zones are designed to work together in modern cars.

Anyone else care to play?