All language subtitles for Next World - 01x03 - Future Cars.DVDRip.English.HI.orig

NARRATOR : ln the future,
you will commute to work

at supersonic speeds. . .

. . . cruise around town
in a mahogany sports car,

and drive machines that
will take you to new depths.

Technology is pushing
from every direction. . .

. . . getting faster
with each passing second.

Prepare yourself.

The future is closer
than you think.

KAKU : The car hasn't
really changed much

in the past 80 years.

lt's basically a box on wheels.

In the future,
we're gonna see a dramatic,

revolutionary convergence
of advanced technologies --

nanotechnology,
artificial intelligence,

microsensor technology --

the application of space-age
and digital technology,

which will shake everything up
concerning our car.

NARRATOR :
Those revolutionary innovations

will mean that cars
will someday morph

to suit our ever-changing needs.

Determining
the shape of things to come

begins with a simple question.

just what is a car, anyway?

Often referred to
as the ''automobile. ''

''Automobile'' --
like self-moving.

With that definition,
an elevator is auto-mobile.

l think a much better word,
a much more emotional one,

is the word ''cars. ''

lf an automobile is what
you use, a car is what you are.

[ Engine revs ]

NARRATOR :
lf cars are who we are,

then cars have defined us
thus far as. . .

A box.
Cars kind of all look the same.

They're all boxes.

To make sure that every one
of those cars is perfect,

you mill them out of huge blocks
of steel and iron.

And you make sure
that they're put in machines

that only put them together

in an extremely,
extremely precise manner.

Design is really here
to be a mediator

between you and your world.

But if people's expectations are

things should look
exactly like they did yesterday,

then that's what
they're gonna look like.

NARRATOR : And with every new age
comes new expectations.

The question is,

how will those new expectations
reshape our automotive future?

Let me introduce you to Gina.

NARRATOR : This is a car
we'd all like to meet.

lt's an aluminum-space-frame
chassis

that gives it these dimensions
and these proportions

of what really is
a classic roadster.

NARRATOR : Aerodynamic,
powerful, exotic, sleek --

all the elements
of a classic roadster.

But how is this
the car of the future?

Gina's got something
very special under the hood.

Instead of a car with a steel
body or a carbon-fiber body,

we made this entire car
out of a Gina skin,

which is very stretchy,

can be put over
all kinds of structure.

And, in fact, this structure
right here is the substructure,

which protects you in a crash.

And the skin
takes a normal sports car

and really makes it
a sports car of the future.

So if we want to wake Gina up,

l guess the first thing
we have to do

is ask Gina to open her eyes
and wake up a bit,

because that's really where
the personality of a car

comes through.

Hello?
There we go.

Can we get a little bit
of light out of you?

There we go.

The light spills through
underneath

and shows you the structure

and also let it have
a little bit of an attitude.

NARRATOR : Inspired
by stretching a stocking

over a wire clothes hanger,

Chris Bangle has taken
the concept of a beautiful car

and expanded it beyond
what most people can imagine.

Gina itself isn't just
about stretching cloth.

lt's about stretching your mind
into a new idea framework

to let you see the materials
differently.

lf today Ineed to take
a lot of stuff to the dump

and so Ineed a lot of space
in the back of the car,

the car has to change
to adapt to that.

But tomorrow, l happen to be
going with my wife to a party

and l would like the car to look
as elegant as we are dressed,

can't the car change a bit more
into that shape?

NARRATOR : Gina will usher in
the age of morphing mobility.

l magine a car that changes shape
to suit your every need.

BANGLE: Well, if cars really are
an avatar for you,

they reflect you on the outside
to the rest of the world,

then it only makes sense
that as we change and evolve

in how we are as people
in this world

and relate to one another,
the cars have to change with us.

NARRATOR :
Gina may be one of a kind,

but with the introduction
of the Gina concept,

car design may never return to
its original shape ever again.

The idea that every generation

needs to find cars
for themselves

is quite clear,
in the historical sense.

And if you look forward
in the future,

then the kind of demands
that young people

put on our generation
are really high.

And they expect
a different world

than the one
that we're living in right now.

That's where l think
car design has to change

to match those expectations.

NARRATOR : And the morphing
that Gina can do

may be only the beginning,

because forward-thinking
scientists and designers

are planning for a future
in which cars

can reshape themselves
at the molecular level

through the emerging science
of nanotechnology.

The magic of nanotechnology
means that in the future

we may be able to grow things
atom for atom.

lf you can control the migration
of individual atoms,

you can literally grow cars
in your backyard.

NARRATOR : By manipulating
individual atoms and molecules,

nanotechnologists will make cars
that are vastly stronger,

lighter,
and infinitely more flexible --

cars like the nanospider.

Volkswagen designers
think that one day

they'll be able to program
extremely tiny machines,

none of them more than
a half a millimeter in diameter,

to assemble themselves
into a car.

FAULWETTER : These robots
are creating a shape -- a car.

Like, you're driving in a car,

and it consists out of a society
of little nanorobots.

NARRATOR : The connections
between the nanobots

could be changed on the fly,

letting the car
shift its shape as needed.

lt's like a morphing car.

So the vehicle's shape
would begin to change

based on the dynamics
of the wind,

based on the speed
that we want to go,

based on whether we're going
up a hill or down a hill.

And this is what
we want to be able to do,

much like a bird in flight
being able to change its shape.

So, in other words,

instead of having a car
that has a singular shape,

the car shape can change.

NARRATOR :
Using tiny sensors,

the nanodevices could sense
impending collisions

and strengthen or weaken
their connections accordingly,

creating active crumple zones.

And when the car has outlived
its usefulness -- no problem.

lt's like a new way
of recycling things.

lt's not like creating a car
and after time,

when you don't need it anymore,
then crush it or melt it.

You can use
the same kind of material

to create a different shape
for different needs.

NARRATOR :
Future cars will be able

to redesign themselves
on the fly.

But when the rubber
meets the road,

just how fast will they go?

lf you haven't seen the future,
you haven't driven fast enough.

Future roads
may have speed limits.

But future cars won't.

That's because engineers
are retooling cars

from the inside out,

building a new generation
of speed demons

that will leave even today's
fastest cars in the dust.

lf you haven't seen the future,
you haven't driven fast enough.

NARRATOR :
This is the Koenigsegg,

the fastest street-legal car
on the planet.

That's 2 45 miles per hour
of handmade Swedish engineering

brought to you by one
visionary Swedish engineer --

Christian von Koenigsegg.

We build supercars
for the future.

NARRATOR :
The secret of the Koenigsegg --

a g00-horsepower
twin supercharged engine

wrapped in an ultralight
carbon-fiber frame.

That's what makes it go fast.

But speed isn't
only about raw power.

KOEN lGSEGG :
Fast is not only top speed.

Fast is about how the car
operates as a total,

meaning braking,
acceleration, cornering,

how everything interacts fast
to make the package go fast

around a circle or on a bad road
or in a straight line

in top speed
all at the same time.

That's fast.

[ Engine revs ]

NARRATOR :
With that in mind,

Christian von Koenigsegg
has hand-tooled

every inch of the car

to be as responsive as if
it were part of your own body.

And what a body it is.

lt makes you feel like Superman.

lt gives me feedback.

lt feels like
l put my feet on the road

and my hands on the wheels and
on the brake disks, basically.

l am connected.

NARRATOR : Feeling that connected
doesn't come cheap.

The latest Koenigsegg sells
for slightly over $ 1 million,

and the wait list
is about two years.

But if you can wait
a little longer,

future models of the Koenigsegg

will pretty much tie
the car's controls

right into your nervous system.

KOEN lGSEGG : Force-feedback
systems will further improve

the tactile feeling
and the connectivity to a car

to make it more like
an exoskeleton.

There will be technology
that monitors your eyes

to see what they're looking at

and molding seats to your body
so you're always comfortable.

Instead of having gears,

it will be able to modulate
torque and RPM

with hand controls

so you're always balancing
the tip of the maximum power.

NARRATOR : The Koenigsegg
will be able to handle

anything the road can throw
at it at blistering speeds.

But if you really want to see
the future of speed,

you'll have to get off the roads
altogether,

because ''street legal''
is only part of the story.

In California's Mojave Desert,

engineers and racers
are busy building a future

in which commutes
will be measured in seconds,

not hours.

A future in which cars break
the sound barrier regularly.

This is
the North American Eagle,

and it's poised
to become the fastest car

on the face of the Earth.

lt's a jet fighter on wheels --
literally.

SHADLE:
We took this F-1 04 Starfighter,

which is a Mach 2 fighter,
and we clipped its wings.

We actually removed the wings,

removed the horizontal
stabilizer,

spent years
rebuilding everything.

'Cause you can't just go out
and buy these things.

And we built this thing
on a suspension

so that we can actually drive it
like a car.

NARRATOR :
Two months away

from being scrapped
to make beer cans,

it was a death-defying act
to get the Eagle up to speed.

But it seems the Eagle
was destined to break

the world land speed record
of 7 63 miles per hour.

SHADLE: That was the original
taiInumber of this aircraft.

7 63 miles an hour represents
the world land speed record.

And this being 7 63,

we figured there's probably
some divine intervention there.

NARRATOR :
In fact, Ed believes he can go

well beyond 800 miles per hour
in his supersonic car.

At speeds like that,

ordinary rubber tires
would melt like butter,

and most metals would buckle.

So Ed and his team
reinvented the wheel.

SHADLE: lt's a special
aerospace grade of aluminum.

'Cause when you spin these
things up to like 1 5, 000 RPMs,

they practically turn into
potato chips, the way they warp.

So the design had to be
really thought through.

l mean, who else
has built wheels out there

that are capable of turning
at g00 miles an hour?

l think we're about
the first ones.

NARRATOR : And melting wheels
aren't the only concern.

Traveling at supersonic speeds

involves breaking
the sound barrier,

and this creates a shock wave.

[ Sonic boom ]

A shock wave in the air
is nothing to worry about.

But a shock wave
on the ground. . .

lt creates lift,
and if you're not careful,

next thing you know,
you're flying this airplane

instead of driving
this airplane.

lt's a very delicate dance
all the way down the track.

NARRATOR : But the biggest
technical challenge

of supersonic ground travel
isn't going fast.

lt's stopping.

Since ordinary brakes would be
shredded at these speeds,

Ed's team developed

a one-of-a-kind set
of magnetic brakes

made up of two large metal
plates in the wheel assembly,

each aligned with
2 7 rare-earth permanent magnets.

Hydraulic systems push the
magnetic brake plates together

creating eddy currents
in the aluminum

and generating enough resistance

to stop a jet fighter
in mid-flight.

And just like
space-program technologies

have become part
of our everyday lives,

Ed Shadle believes the
inauguration of the rocket car

will one day supercharge
your daily commute.

SHADLE: One of the futures
of the automobile

that could be answered
through a project like this

is getting people to work.

Now, if you look
at the new HOT lanes

that they just opened up
between Tacoma and Seattle,

you have to pay
to go into the left lane

so you can scurry along faster
than everyone else.

What if that was a track
that you move your vehicle onto

and it's levitated

through our magnetic processes
that we've developed here

and they're scooted along
at 7 00, 800, g00 miles an hour

and they get to Seattle
in a blink?

Wouldn't that be great?

That's the kind of future
that can come

from the technologies that we
develop in projects like this.

NARRATOR :
Future cars will go really fast.

Does that mean future car wrecks
will be really bad?

Not necessarily.

In the future, crashes will be
a thing of the past.

NARRATOR :
No more crashes -- ever?

That's a long way
from where we are today.

[ Tires screech ]

There's more than 1 . 2 million
people getting killed

in road-traffic accidents
each year.

And that's just
the tip of the iceberg.

NARRATOR : In fact,
traffic accidents are, globally,

the leading cause of death

among young people
age 1 0 to 2 4 years old.

lt's not a problem.
lt's epidemic.

NARRATOR :
The cure for the epidemic

is being developed
in the labs of Volvo.

lt was here that the three-point
seat belt was created.

And it's here that new concepts
for a crash-proof future

are being hatched.

We take safety very seriously.

NARRATOR :
Their newest model

is designed to be
virtually death-proof.

Creating a car like that
starts with analyzing

the real-world physics
of collisions.

Meet M r. And M rs. Benson.

Clive,
who's doing the driving today,

has been working hard all week.

Meet Lars and Anna,
a newlywed couple.

While the couple are arguing
about what route to take,

the driver takes a moment
to look down at the map,

not realizing that he's starting
to drift into the opposite lane.

In the other car, Clive
is listening to his family,

drifting off in his mind,

not realizing the car
coming straight towards him.

NARRATOR :
By playing out

thousands of realistic
scenarios,

engineers are able
to constantly refine

airbag responsiveness,
frame design,

and other components
of the death-proof car.

BROBERG :
Looking up from the map,

the couple realize
that they're in the wrong lane.

At the same moment,
Clive looks up

and he starts to apply
the brakes.

But it's too late.

NARRATOR :
These scenarios

have helped Volvo build
ultra-safe cars.

But they're not resting
on their laurels.

Their vision --

a future where crashing
is not just survivable. . .

. . . but impossible.

This is my car,
and l really like it.

In the crash-free future,
thanks to auto-brake systems,

l don't have to worry
about it getting damaged.

NARRATOR : To make a car
that won't let itself crash,

you have to give it senses.

We gave this car eyes.

Here, we have a laser radar

which transmits laser beams
in front of the car.

And here's a receiver.

Based on this information,
we can calculate

the closing velocity
to objects in front of the car.

NARRATOR : And you have to
give the car reflexes.

lf you're about to crash,
your car will take the wheel.

BROBERG :
lf a collision is imminent

and the driver does not take
appropriate action,

we can automatically
brake the car

and completely avoid
the collision.

NARRATOR : Using its radar eyes
to spot dangers

and auto-braking
and auto-steering to avoid them,

this is one car that won't crash
even if you want it to.

But the real goal
is to create a car

that works with you
to avoid collisions.

So we can monitor
what's outside the car.

We can also monitor
how the car is being used.

This kind of research
can help us in the future

to actually get inside
the driver's head.

NARRATOR :
Using software

which monitors and tracks
your eye movements,

head position,
and reaction time. . .

. . .they're building a future car

that will compensate
for your bad driving habits.

lt will know
when you're distracted,

when you're overreacting,
when you're nervous,

and when you're angry.

lt will know you
better than you know yourself.

Studying people is by far the
most important thing for us now,

and we are involved in a number
of different projects

in order to build
this knowledge.

NARRATOR :
But studying people

is only the beginning
of Volvo's research.

lt turns out that the real
secret of a crash-free future

may be a car
that is less like a person

and more like a grasshopper.

EKMARK:
We took the grasshopper.

We put it in a harness
just before a video screen.

And on that video screen,

we would show it sequences
that look like near collisions.

NARRATOR :
Researchers noticed

that grasshoppers travel
in swarms of millions,

separated from each other
by fractions of inches

but never collide.

lf cars could do that,
the benefits would be huge.

EKMARK:
You can think of a swarm of cars

that are moving really closely
on the highway

and then you have a greater
capacity on the same highway

which will reduce congestion.

Now we've discovered

that when a grasshopper
is about to have a collision,

its nervous system will
almost immediately take action.

For instance, when it is almost

about to have a collision
on the left,

its wings will start
to compensate

so that it moves
to the right side.

NARRATOR :
The grasshopper's nervous system

is made up of highly specialized
clusters of nerve cells

in various parts of its body.

This enables the grasshopper
to detect threats

and make adjustments
in fractions of a second.

The main reason
this system is so efficient?

Grasshoppers don't really have
a brain.

NARRATOR :
They do have brains, of course,

but only tiny, rudimentary ones.

Nerve signals don't waste time

by going through a central
processing unit like a brain,

and that's what makes
a grasshopper

so incredibly efficient
in swarms of erratic traffic.

lt is, in essence,
a driverless vehicle.

Engineers think, in the future,

they'll be able to replicate
this behavior in cars

using vast arrays of sensors
and automated reflexes

to make them hypersensitive,
instinctive,

and utterly crash-proof.

The exciting thing here
is really

that we can take advantage

of 4 1 /2 billion years
of evolution

when we are designing
new collision-avoidance systems

for the future.

NARRATOR :
And the same systems

will let future cars
travel quickly and safely,

even when packed
within inches of one another.

l hope that we will see

a swarm of cars going closer,
faster, and safer.

When you drive closer,
the wind drag is lower,

which will reduce
power consumption,

and that's good
for the environment.

NARRATOR : Swarms of cars
on future superhighways

sounds like a smart idea.

But if it's smart
you're looking for,

your next car
could be an Einstein.

lt's easy to imagine

supercars of tomorrow
that tear down the highway,

look more like rocket ships
than cars,

and are tricked out
with every possible luxury.

But the future may in fact be
a whole lot simpler than that.

Simpler and smarter.

Like all technology,
we rely on our cars to be smart.

In the future, we'll ask them
to be even smarter.

Actually, we may not
look at them as cars at all

but rather as artificial
intelligence on wheels.

Step inside the Pivo,

and you'll be greeted by your
own robotic driving companion.

A friendly co-pilot
who's intelligent and helpful.

[ Beeps ]

Pivo is the creation
of Masato Inoue

and his colleagues at Nissan,

who have decided that the future
is not only about supercars

but friendly robotic cars,
as well.

The car's interior cameras
track and analyze

your every facial expression
so Pivo knows your moods.

And Pivo's smarts don't stop
with the onboard robot.

The car's overall design
is ingenious, as well.

Pivo has large doors
for easy access to the cabin

and large windscreens
and windows for high visibility.

And in case there are
any lingering blind spots,

cameras mounted
all around the body

bring you complete
360-degree vision.

And Pivo doesn't just see
in every direction,

it rotates in every direction,

and this will change driving
as we know it.

There will be
a 360-degree rotating cabin

resting on its four-wheel
chassis.

And because all four wheels
can rotate g0 degrees,

parallel parking
wilInever be a problem again,

and the driver will always be
able to exit the car curbside.

With its huge windows
and multiple cameras,

Pivo is all about visibility
and transparency --

a car that keeps you feeling
connected to the outside world.

But what if the smart car
of the future

replaced your windshield
with a computer screen?

That's the audacious concept

behind Stephane Aubarbier's
Assystem City Car.

As its name suggests,

the City Car is built
for urban living,

with a lightweight frame

and an unusual diamond-shaped
wheel placement

that make it ideal for
nimble movement in tight spaces.

But the car's
most radical concept is inside.

Switch the City Car
into smart mode,

and a digital display
is pulled across the windshield,

meaning you can't see
out the window at all.

But don't worry.

You'll actually see the road
better than before,

thanks to a system Stephane
calls augmented reality.

In other words, your own
two eyes will be no match

for the City Car's
four mounted infrared cameras,

which can see through
rain and darkness

much better than you can.

The display
can call your attention

to road signs and hazards.

And because the display
is digital,

it's entirely customizable.

You will control
where your controls live,

shift the rearview mirror
closer to your line of sight,

move your speedometer higher.

Augmented reality will give you
a much more useful windshield

than your old glass one.

Like the Pivo, the City Car
will have cameras inside, too,

using a retinal detector
to confirm

its true owner
is behind the wheel.

And the same cameras will make
sure the driver stays alert.

WOMAN : Wake upl

NARRATOR : The City Car's
cameras and sensors

could make your ride
smarter and safer.

And similar technologies

could make your ride
a whole lot smoother.

With high-end automobiles,
luxury is everything,

and future luxury innovations

will ensure that the glass
remains half full.

The engineers at Mercedes
are developing a way

to literally smooth out
the bumps in the road

via a system called Pre-Scan.

We are smoothing out
the road completely.

NARRATOR :
Infrared laser beams

scan the road 1 0 yards ahead
of the car,

searching for potholes, debris,
or any kind of bumps.

Based on what the lasers see,

the system then
tells the suspension to relax

or brace itself
for what's coming.

The result -- a steady ride
under just about any conditions.

Leave a water glass on the roof,
and not a drop will spill.

Mercedes engineers call it
the ''magic carpet ride. ''

BALASUBRAMAN lAN :
With the radar sensors,

with the camera sensors,

we are expanding
the width and the depth

of what we can see or perceive.

The most excitement would be
that l'd drive the way l want to

with all the pleasure l can get,
but l want to be sure

that all these sensors
take care of me.

NARRATOR : Your future ride will
be supersmart and supersmooth,

but you may be surprised what
that car will be made out of.

You ask yourself, ''Why wouldn't
you make it out of wood?''

NARRATOR : Could the future
of automotive breakthroughs

come from biodegradable and
naturally renewable resources

like wood?

joe Harmon thinks so.

His creation
is a 7 00-horsepower supercar

built almost entirely
out of wood composites.

HAR MON : Wood has incredible
performance capabilities,

it has a higher
strength-to-weight ratio

than aluminum or steel.

And you can use it
in composite form

much like carbon fiber
or fiberglass.

When you look at it that way,
you kind of ask yourself,

''Why wouldn't you
make it out of wood?''

NARRATOR :
The real question is, how?

HAR MON :
Virtually everything on the car

other than the engine
and transmission starts as this.

This is a sheet of veneer that's
very typical for what we use.

Wood is a directional material,

so it has a lot of strength
in this direction

but not much strength
in this direction.

So typically,
we rotate each layer g0 degrees

to balance that strength out.

NARRATOR : The Splinter Car's
production team

glues tens of thousands

of these wafer-thin slices
of veneer together

into custom-molded car parts.

When finally assembled,

wood will make up
more than g0% of this hot rod,

even the wheels.

HAR MON :
We've reinvented the wheel.

lt's made out of 32 layers
of rotary-cut oak veneer.

We tested one of the spokes,

and it took 6, 000 pounds
to break it.

NARRATOR : And it also comes
with handcrafted seats.

HAR MON :
l took a basket-weaving class

to learn how to weave
the seats for this car.

And that was
a very emasculating experience.

NARRATOR :
Emasculation aside,

joe is very confident
in what they're creating.

We named it the Splinter to
kind of poke fun at the people.

Everybody told us
it was gonna break apart.

NARRATOR : Actually,
Splinter is quite durable

and uses innovative design

to overcome
some obvious challenges.

HAR MON : 7 00 horsepower makes
a lot of heat.

So by bringing the exhaust
out of the top,

we conduct cool air in
much easier

to keep the engine-bay
temperatures down

to keep from
catching our wood on fire.

NARRATOR : Faced with a future
of diminishing resources,

a car that is mostly organic
makes a lot of sense.

HAR MON : One of the biggest
benefits to wood

is that it takes
very little energy

to produce a piece of plywood

when you compare that
to aluminum, steel,

or carbon fiber, especially.

And it's not an oil-,
petroleum-dependant material.

lt's a naturally renewable,
sustainable,

biodegradable material.

NARRATOR :
The Splinter Car

could very well mean
an end to junkyards,

and it points to a new era
in car design and manufacturing.

l could see in the future
a flat-packed, l KEA-type car

being shipped to your doorstep

that you could assemble
yourself.

NARRATOR :
Whether it's a future

where we chop down a truck
from the backyard

or pick up a kit car
from the local model shop,

there's no doubt
that joe and his team

can see the forest
through the trees.

Using a material that's
so far away from the norm,

it leads you
in different directions.

We wanted to take it
to the extreme.

We've definitely heard a lot of
people say it's not gonna work,

and we look forward
to proving them wrong.

NARRATOR :
That's what innovators do.

They go against the grain

and charge full-steam
into the future,

sometimes with a great deal
of eccentricity.

This isn't your grandfather's
steam car.

NARRATOR :
This is Inspiration,

a British car built to reach
record-breaking speeds.

And it's powered by a source

as old
as the Industrial Revolution.

CAND Y:
At the turn of the century,

steam was a viable alternative

with electric and diesel
internal-combustion-engine cars.

NARRATOR :
In fact, steam never left us.

High-pressure,
super-heated steam

is responsible for much
of the world's electricity.

But how is it that one of our
oldest forms of locomotion

is a contender

for the smart, new
alternative fuel of the future?

The answer lies
in sophisticated engineering.

This is the engine room
of the steam car.

We have
the 1 2-boiler-tube matrix. . .

40 bar pressure. . .
250 meters of this. . .

250 degrees C. . .
burn of 1 , 050 degrees Celsius. . .

2 40 volts. . .
2 4 volts. . . 1 2 volts. . .

A reduction crown wheel
and pinion gear

drive the rear wheels.

NARRATOR : Inspiration's heart
is its boilers.

Matt and his team

have managed to compress
the power of a locomotive

into a small, portable boiler.

1 2 of these propane boilers
use heat and pressure

to rapidly vaporize water
into steam.

The steam then hits
a turbine engine,

driving it up to 1 2, 000 RPMs.

The result -- a supercar
that Matt Candy thinks

can break
the steam-car speed record,

which has stood
for more than a century.

CAND Y: lt was a version
of a Stanley Steamer

that holds the recognized
world record,

set in 1 g06,
of 1 2 7 miles an hour.

That's the record
that we're hoping to beat.

NARRATOR : Even if they're
bursting a few boilers

along the way,

it's not going to stop Matt
from his mission,

because he believes steam
will be a critical component

in future hybrid cars.

Someday, we'll see cars

that have several engines
or power sources

built right alongside
one another.

CAND Y: Steam has a means of
getting every last drop of heat

from the combustion
that's taken place.

As a part of the whole,
it does have a future.

NARRATOR :
For the British,

boiling hot water is no doubt
a national obsession.

But pumping out the equivalent
of g, 000 cups of tea a minute

is a bit over the top.

CAND Y:
lt has all the elements

of some crazy, eccentric
British inventiveness,

but the technology
that we're bringing to it,

it is new
and it's not been done before.

NARRATOR :
Future cars will be made

from all sorts
of radical materials

and powered in all sorts
of unexpected ways.

And they'll take you places you
never thought a car could go.

We are the first guys
to build a car which can dive.

NARRATOR :
From the very beginning,

cars have been a symbol
of our independence.

The cars of the future
will give us more independence

than we ever thought possible.

l don't need the roads.

NARRATOR : Frank Rinderknecht
doesn't even need land,

for that matter.

The sQuba has everything you'd
want from a futuristic vehicle.

Sports-car fast, stylish,
eco-friendly.

With a laser camera mounted up
front, it can even drive itself.

But with the push of a button,

this car goes
where no other has gone before.

R InDERKNECHT:
We are the first guys

to build a car which can dive.

Probably the most
astonishing fact

is that we dive in the open,
which means that people get wet.

NARRATOR : Thanks
to a built-in dive system,

this convertible-submarine
concept

will keep you close
to the coral reefs

and provide an easy escape route
should your oxygen run low.

Powered by propellers
on the surface

and water jets down below,

the sQuba handles as well
underwater as it does above it.

R InDERKNECHT: The two water jets
can be rotated

to adjust to going up
and diving under.

This water intake
guides the water

to the two water jets on
the left and on the right side.

The water jets shoot out
the water on the side,

and propels the car once
it's underneath the surface.

NARRATOR : And sQuba has
an environmental consciousness

in every environment it travels.

The sQuba is fully electric.

lt was very important for us
to be zero emission.

NARRATOR :
The sQuba will open up

a whole new world
of possibilities for our future.

A dive-enabled car could be used
for transportation

for new habitats
under the sea level.

NARRATOR : Discovering new places
is a passion for some drivers.

For others,

getting lost is a much more
attractive proposition.

Thanks to the new
jeep Renegade concept car,

we will soon be able
to disappear into the wild

without a trace.

QU lGLEY: This vehicle opens up
entirely new avenues

that let the driver
and the occupants

literally go more places and do
more than they're able to today.

NARRATOR :
The Renegade is designed

to leave all other
off-road vehicles in the dust.

lts mission is to go anywhere
and stay there

for a very long time.

The electric engine's
present range of 400 miles

could get you
across the Mojave Desert.

But the sky's the limit,

thanks to a unique set
of power-generating wheels.

QU lGLEY: The same time
as it's using energy

to get me up the hill,

it's recharging itself
coming down the hill.

Not only no more stops
to the gas station

but a range extension

for what an explorer
or a sports enthusiast

has always
really been looking for.

The future implication
of this is, someday,

l'd like to think we can take
this battery-storage system

and create complete
sustainable energy.

NARRATOR :
Designing for extremes

is what this machine
is all about.

And its strategically placed

265-horsepower
dual electric motor

and a supercharged battery

not only keep the Renegade
moving forward

but keep it connected
to the Earth

in the most rugged environments.

QU lGLEY: The battery is situated
directly between the wheels,

under the body ;

the motors, at each wheel,
as low as possible,

which all contribute to an
incredibly low center of gravity

compared to
a typical combustion engine.

NARRATOR : l magine a future
where blazing new trails

won't come at a cost
to the trail itself.

The Renegade is made to run
totally silent,

so it won't disturb
the wilderness.

And thanks to its
environmentally friendly design,

it won't ever leave a trace.

QU lGLEY:
The team took a hard focus

on the effects to the
environment with this vehicle.

And as Tread Lightly! elements
require that the vehicle leaves

no history of its presence
on the trail,

we want to leave no history

of this vehicle's presence
to the earth either.

So, to that end,
all the materials,

be it metals, plastics, fabrics,
even the compounds of the tires

are completely reusable.

NARRATOR : From new frontiers
to the final frontier,

vehicles of the future
will take us to habitats

in the furthest reaches
of the solar system.

The Lunar Chariot

is paving the way
to our future in outer space --

and plowing it. . .

and drilling it. . .

and digging it.

lf we're going to develop
the moon and other planets,

this construction vehicle
will build everything

from landing strips
to space stations.

America makes some pretty tough
trucks -- we all know that.

But this truck, it's different,
and it is tough.

Chariot will get on a rocket,
go to the moon,

and then it'll be
going through terrain

that is enormously harsh.

NARRATOR : When he says tough,
he means NASA tough.

At the extremes,
the lunar surface is anywhere

from -2 7 0 degrees Fahrenheit
to 2 7 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

NARRATOR : The Chariot
is not only built to withstand

anything the solar system
can throw at it,

but it actually hungers
and feeds off of these extremes.

jUNKIn :
lf one part of the vehicle

is pointing towards the sun,

we'll take the heat
from that part of the vehicle

and move it to parts of the
vehicle that are in the shade.

NARRATOR :
To ensure its mobility,

the Lunar Chariot
is built like a crab,

with six independently
controlled legs

and 1 2 independently moving
wheels.

lt won't get stuck, because
getting stuck is not an option.

jUNKIn : lf you're going through
an area where you get stuck,

you can pick
each wheel module up,

point them
in an opposing direction,

and you just drive right out.

NARRATOR : Cornering
in moon craters with space suits

is a bit different from circling
the track at Indianapolis.

Astronauts need
a different kind of mobility.

jUNKIn : When you're in a suit,
you can only see forward.

lt's hard to turn your head, so
you can't really see behind you.

So we came up with the idea
to put the astronaut on a turret

so that the astronaut could see
all sides of their vehicle.

NARRATOR : The handling ability
of the truck

is not only a function
of who's driving.

In many instances, the Chariot
won't have a driver at all.

At least not behind the wheel.

The lunar truck
has three modes of operation.

lt can be operated on board,

it can be operated locally,
off board,

and then it can be operated
remotely from a long distance,

say, from Earth
to the lunar surface.

NARRATOR : The Lunar Chariot
is not something we'll see

at a nearby construction site.

At a cost of $2 million,

it promises to boldly build
where no truck has built before.

jUNKIn :
lt's moon, Mars, and beyond.

We are taking
the baby steps right now,

and the lunar truck
is just one of those steps

to get to a point where
we're using Mars as a habitat.

And then after Mars,

it's planets outside
of our solar system.

You never know
where we're going with this,

but you know that we're going
in the right direction.

NARRATOR :
When kids of today

dream about getting
their licenses,

future cars
are what they'll dream about.

Cars powered by electricity
and steam.

They'll drive without fear,
surrounded by sensors. . .

. . . and superstrong materials.

They'll climb into cars
that defy conventional limits. . .

. . . and climb into cars that
will do the driving for them.

This. . .

-This. . .
-This. . .

-This. . .
-This. . .

-This. . .

NARRATOR : These are the cars
of the future.