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THE CAR IN THE YEAR 2014
Authors: Josip Vlahović
Number of views: 548
The passenger vehicle today is modern and highly equipped. Already in the basic version, it has a servo steering, power brakes, Antilock Braking System, Electronic Stability Control, air bag, etc. It has crash safe and dynamically robust body. Body corrosion resistance is significantly better. Engines consume less, and yet (and nevertheless) the emission is nearly 100 times cleaner than 30 years ago.
In any case, the passenger cars today are much better, safer, more reliable and environmentally friendly. They became larger and heavier, but they are fulfilling all requirements. All this is possible through the application of new methods of body construction, by application of the know-how in new production technologies and through application of the new metallurgical classes of Steel and Aluminium. There are also new plastics and composites, too.
Great progress has been made in electronic monitoring and control of vehicle systems. Today, on the market, there are vehicles with automatic control. Future cars will soon not need a driver. On the other hand, new limitations on the road, like speed limits, are coming more and more. Congestions on roads would lead toward more speed limits.
Because of these, it is quite difficult to say how would passenger cars look like in the future? It could happen that private cars would be controlled from some control centre.