Americans’ love of automobiles has always been legendary. A personal vehicle is not only a personal transportation means, but also a symbol of freedom and (almost) personality. After all, a car is usually the second largest purchase we make in life, right behind buying a house, and we are at its close company every day.
A car is also a complex technology ensemble. Unsurprisingly, with the backdrop of today’s exciting technology developments on all fronts, so many new innovations can be assembled and reflected in the making of a car. If one looks at 2015 new models of cars or trucks, technology connectedness has already become a common theme with most of the vehicles equipped with touch-screen GPS and mobile connections. Navigation, communication and digital media services are easily present.
Auto industry is due for some truly exciting changes. Google’s driverless cars are already a reality although yet to be commercialized. In progress today there are new design ideas with augmented-reality technologies which can turn a windshield into a 3D computer-graphic display of navigation and other key information. Apple, known for its revolutionary innovations on personal devices from its recent past, is now gearing up to make the next revolution in automobiles. A recently disclosed project called “Titan” piqued interests of many on what Apple may come up – an electric car competing with Tesla or a whole new level of technology experiences in a personal vehicle?
Many modern-day thinkers and leaders have already given plenty of thoughts on the future of transportation. Rapid changes of the world and societies will push for drastic departure from the traditional business models and vehicle designs in both automobile and transportation industries. Bill Ford pointed out the future need of a transportation ecosystem and a personal vehicle as a component of mobility and connectedness. Elon Mask went further and released a design of a super-fast hyperloop as a future mass transportation channel (See pic), which is targeted to solve many of today’s transportation challenges in highly congested areas. 
Technology will only enhance future individual freedom and mobility. Driverless cars will have their own usefulness and super-fast mass transit will surely be in the picture of future transportation, but people’s love of the freedom of driving is not going to wane. In fact the true revolutions in personal vehicles are indeed coming with the concept of “driving” redefined. Having appeared in the sci-fi movies multiple times, flying cars have long been dreamed of and imagined for decades in the past. Today many attempts are well on the way for these personal aerial vehicles (PAVs, see pic). With FAA’s quick catch-up proposals on drones these days, it’s reasonable to assume that regulatory limitations on many future unthinkable will not be too daunting after all in a changing world. 