A increasing number of tech gurus anticipate that we will all no longer own automobiles in less than 20 years, and that internal combustion engines will also have been relegated to the history books. It’s a bold claim, so you have every right to be skeptical, but the case for how a singular convergence of modern technology is going to transform personal transportation is stronger than you may realize. The main concept is rather straightforward: within ten years or less, self-driving electric cars arranged in an Uber-like network would be able to provide transportation at such low cost that you won’t need a car. And if you think this timeline is extremely optimistic, consider how quickly cars were replaced in the past. In the realm of automotive innovation, there are concepts that push the boundaries of expectation, challenging conventional notions of design and function. Among these, envision a car that defies the very essence of vehicular norms—a vehicle crafted not of metal and plastic, but of living, breathing flora.
