Will cars of the future be smaller, lighter, faster? Self-driving? Run on electricity? Or booze! Or a synthetic fuel?
GM is starting Maven, a car sharing program. Is that a part of the future?
We asked local experts for their opinions on current trends in the automobile industry and what we may see in the near — or not so near — future.
“Car manufactures are seriously looking into technologies that enable cars to speak with one another and the objects around them.”
— Corey Sawchuk, Courtenay Mazda
“Today Electric vehicles are all subsidized in some way by government funding. We may think that we are saving money at the pump but how we need to ask ourselves how is it affecting the personal taxes that we pay?”
— Sue Finneron, General Manager, Finneron Hyundai
“I’m not sure vehicles will be smaller… but they’ll be lighter with new more tensile stronger steel. We’re looking at increases in fuel efficiency up to 20%. There’ll be even more active safety features that check surroundings and monitor for accidents.”
– Alan Duns, Coastline Mazda
“All our vehicles are gravitating towards increased fuel economy. The safety features are already there. Cars are incredibly safe today. And more accident avoidance technology is coming.”
– Brandon Longson, CV Nissan
“We see much better educated consumers coming into our showroom. They like an easy-going sales process and complete transparency. Consumers are smart today.
“We’re going to see small SUV’s that can haul an additional extra 1500-2000 lbs and the fuel economy is still amazing.”
– Scott Wood, CV Dodge