Star Trek Tech and Hypermiling

[superchow]

OK, so this is silly, but my mind is free to think about such things when I'm trying to get an extra mpg here or there, right?

I was following a slow convoy of cars up a hill, and wondered how awesome it would be if I could just hitch myself the the car in front and let him do all the work of lugging the weight of my car. Of course, this would have to happen imperceptibly... oh, I know: tractor beam!

So I wondered what futuristic technologies would you like to implement on your cars to get the edge in the attaining better mileage?

(Yes, I know teleportation would save the world, and warp reatrors don't even need gasoline. This is about single things to improve real world gas mileage.)

[bikin' Ed]

What if a large electro-magnet was mouned just behind your grille block? Could you engine off coast being pulled by the car in front of you, using occasional braking to keep from hitting him?

The added rolling resistance would be offset by the slightly better aerodynamics the leader gets by you filling the space where his wake would be.

[dcb]

I wonder if this response should go under hypermiling music?

[trebuchet03]

Force fields for optimal faired shape...

Invisibility to keep the policy from seeing us from rolling through clear stop signs...

[Tony Raine]

i would like to see an automated interstate system.

get on the highway with your electric car, and a channel in the middle of the lane automatically sync's with a disc on the bottom of your car. the interstate channel not only supplies your car with electricity to run, it also charges your batteries for you. on top of that, it controls your vehicle for you. one lane, one speed, equal distances for one solid draft for miles.

to get off the highway, you enter your exit #, and it only lets you off the channel if both hands are on the wheel, and you give a voice command.

[TestDrive]

Originally Posted by Tony Raine

to get off the highway, you enter your exit #, and it only lets you off the channel if both hands are on the wheel, and you give a voice command.

You forget your cell phone at home and the voice-input craters...

[RH77]

The vacuum of space! Aero = no problem.

...and an engine that can run on E85 and dilithium crystals.

[trikkonceptz]

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

Force fields for optimal faired shape...

That would be a biggie, being able to to project a field around your vehicle that would eliminate all turbulence from within it so we can drive by any means with no resistance to wind. It could also double as an external airbag setup to prevent damage in accidents... Might as well add intertial dampners too, that way we do not feel collisions or sudden changes in motion.

[Will]

Ha Ha Ha

[Will]

Oooops, gotta start out slower than that...