T
he world of the motor vehicle is fast evolv ing. In
fact, ever since the ver y fi rst patent for a
passenger vehicle with an internal
combustion engine was fi led by Karl Benz in 1886,
cars have never stopped developing, often in
unexpected ways.
Early breakthroughs in the industr y have helped
shape what we conceive a passenger vehicle to be
today: just take the invention of pneumatic t y res on
vehicles in 1895, the automatic gearbox in 1904 and
the aerodynamics-enhancing rear spoiler in 1973 as
notable cases in point.
However, in our digital age, the rate of automotive
innovation has never been more rapid, w ith
manufacturers constantly lav ishing their vehicles
with cool new technologies to make them faster,
safer, more economical and more interactive than
ever before. Much of this is down to computer
technology being integrated into the vehicle.A computerised ECU (Engine Control Unit) was fi rst
introduced on a vehicle in the 1970s to better match
the amount of fuel mixing with air to ignite in the
engine and power the car along the road. In the 40
years since, these have evolved enormously – despite
getting smaller in size – and are now ver y much the
all-seeing eye of a car.
A modern ECU controls various parameters on the
vehicle, including different performance maps for
the engine, traction control, fuel effi cienc y, and even
when to deploy aerodynamic aids such as spoilers or
to automatically turn on night-driving lights and rain
w ipers in some cases. With a car’s ECU now taking
care of more and more tasks and actions, driv ing a car
has never been easier or safer, with the presence of
advanced computers reducing the risk of human
error at the wheel.
The car industr y’s habit of cramming technolog y
onto a car using even smaller space simply meansthere’s no end to the possibilities of the evolution of
the motor vehicle. With this in mind, it’s almost
impossible for anybody to predict what vehicles w ill
look like, sound like and even drive like by the turn of
the 22nd century. However, thanks to the exciting
array of technologies introduced on manufacturers’
contemporar y vehicles and concept cars, we can at
least have some sort of idea of what’s in store for cars
of tomorrow.
The obv ious change for vehicles of the f uture is a
forced one: with Earth’s supply of fossil fuels quickly
diminishing, vehicles will no longer be able to rely on
gasoline as a fuel source. Therefore, fi nding
alternative means of power is a common goal for all
manufacturers, with hybrid engines and even fully
electric-powered vehicles now a common sight on
the road. But f uel is just the start of this age of
innovation – and the beginning of the excitement for
prospective consumers...BMW i8 concept and
production vehicle
This car can be connected to
your smartphoneBMW’s i Remote app
This app for iOS and Android shows
you current information about the
status of your BMW i8, including
charging status of its battery, as
well as effi ciency.DID YOU KNOW? You can experience what driving and controlling a Toyota FV2 is like with the FV2 app, available on iTunes