Lexus and others have a variety of fancy technology yet still I am curious on one thing that I find missing.
Memory climate control. Cold weather-hit a button, hot weather-hit another button.

Curious what others would like to see in the future car.

 

ROUND ***** for all stereo tuning functions....buttons for station memory.

A/C that blows continuously cold with no up-and-down lukewarmness.

More squared-off body lines.

Higher-profile tires for daily-driver type cars.

Hybrid interiors and dashes that looked more conventional.

More cheerful, brighter, and less morbid exterior paint colors.

More special-order colors available (yes, for a price if necessary)

More cloth-seat options on upmarket cars.....not everyone worships leather.

More no-haggle dealerships....and more discount Internet pricing.

More regular cars with AWD option.

More vehicles with devices like Subaru's variable throttle-response ****.
(Intelligent, Sport, SportSharp).

Oil filters and drain plugs in easier locations to get at.

Return of Saturn's plastic body panels...the company will never be the same without them.

The return of whitewall tires...I really miss them.

BMW-type power steering systems on more different vehicles.

More vehicles with electrically heated windshields for QUICK defrosts.

Rubber timing belts tossed out in the trash and steel chains used instead.

More diesel engines available here in the U.S.

Better noise isolation on small and entry-level cars.

Standard struts or springs to hold hoods up instead of prop-rods.

More E85 and E100 certified engines.

Softer, thicker padding for seats....many seats, especially in Japanese-designed cars, are too firm.

Better paint jobs with less orange peel. Only Lexus, Toyota, top-level Acuras, Audis, and some Mercedes products really seem to do it RIGHT.

More Japanese-level quality from Ford, GM, and Chrysler-designed vehicles. Many (not all) domestics are sorely wanting in build quality and the use of cheap materials.

Outside mirrors that automatically tilt down when in reverse....this is a VERY handy feature.

More two-tone colors, both outside and inside.

Gauges for oil pressure instead of idiot lights.

Brake pedals that don't catch on large shoes.

Daytime running lights that ONLY go on and off automatically with the wipers to satisfy the laws in states that have them. Otherwise they burn out the bulbs needlessly.

A bottle of SCRATCH-OUT with EACH new car.

Vented brake rotors on all four wheels.....too many vehicles have solid rotors in back. Solid rotors are more prone to warping.

Stability systems with no on-off control. There is no reason to turn them off for any kind of normal street driving, and running a street car on the track or in autocross events can void the warranty.

An extra-tall top gear for cars like the Miata and S2000 so you don't have to drive long distances on the highway with the engine buzzing away at 3500-4000 RPM continuously and assaulting your ears....and wearing out.

A switch on AWD cars like on the new Suzuki SX-4 that runs them in 2WD when you don't need the extra traction. This will increase both mileage and throttle response.

More responsive brake pedals on some vehicles.....without sponginess.

DEPENDABLE German electronics.

DSG-type gearboxes in more vehicles.

Factory rubber floor mats for all vehicles as a no-cost option rather than fabric ones.

Engines built WITHOUT those big, annoying, plastic logo-stamped covers that hide and block access to so many things.

Longer seat-bottoms.....many of them don't give much thigh support.

Stronger seat-belt return roll-up springs that don't fade and wear out so quickly.

Standard tire-pressure monitoring...but I understand that's coming.

Better hardware and locks for things like glove compartments, console flip-ups, etc..... Some of the plastic interior hardware on today's cars is junk....even on some premium vehicles.

And, last and perhaps most important.....MUCH more polling, questioning, and interviews/input of the public before changes are made in design or certain models added or dropped. While auto marketers can and do meet with focus groups, FAR more input from the public needs to be done. Too much of auto-marketing and design decisions are made by too few people in the industry....they are doing what they THINK the public wants rather than what the public actually WANTS. Also, too many of the people who MAKE the decisions are cut off too much from the general public. When people have questions and the 1-800 customer-service people at the phones can't answer them, the people who CAN answer them (meaning the ones who make the decisions) aren't available most of the time. They need to MAKE themselves more available....and to go to more of the auto shows, not just 4 or 5 of the largest ones.

 

YES!!

 

-Radar cruise control.

-Blind spot/surround camera like in the new Infiniti SUV.

-Night vision.

-450hp and 30mpg

 

A laser phaser I can shoot at Honda owners going 20mph in the fast lane. As a matter of fact, in all cars, the capablity for the computer to know its in the fast lane and its barely going the speed limit, to move over to the right automatically or spray crap in the face of the driver.

Text messaging capability from the car and e-mail

Bigger sunroofs

Cars where you can adjust the tint and they don't cost $250,000

DNA testing so I can figure how who the hell dropped french fries or spilled something in my car and didn't say anything

V-8 making 30 MPG

BMWs not designed by drunk men who call themselves designers. To think I wanted a 5 series...

A manual Lexus GS V-8 from the factory

 

I want an Auto-Pilot NAV. Press the "Home" button on the NAV screen and crawl into the back seat for a snooze and she takes you right home. Imagine that.

 

A real manual transmission, but with the option of an automatic tranny with a flick of a switch. Sometimes I want to have fun, other times I want to relax

 

I forgot this indispensable feature...

-Be able to surf the web.

 

OK....but not while driving. That is why Cadillac has a lock-out on some of their functions when the transmission is in gear.

 

I wouldn't mind one of those. I could use it to blast all the Toyota owners that clog the left lanes here in FL, as I blow past them in the empty right lane.

 

- Fewer electronic gadgets and driving nannies
- More manual transmissions
- No rev hang, and better throttle response
- Lower weight
- Like mmarshall said, ***** for stereo controls
- ***** for HVAC controls
- Ability to choose a specific style of seat (for instance, padding firmness, bolstering, fabric or leather, etc.
- Sunroof delete option
- An LSD option

 

+1 on that

Also I'd like to see more cars with engine powers you are able to control. The M5 can de-tune to 400hp. The Subaru Legacy GT has SI drive that changes the engine tune a little bit, but on a turbo car it would be nice to be able to control the power even more. For example on a Legacy GT have normal power 250hp but can be able to cut it to 200 for economy or up it to 300hp STI power for sport.

Also with the above I'd say more seamless engine cylinder deactivation to save fuel. Only a small percentage of cars have this feature.

Maybe the option for regular or premium fuel with the understanding power will be less with regular but won't harm the engine.

The above features should be possible and will give people freedom if they want more power or more fuel economy. But don't have to be set in stone with the car you buy, you can change power depending on what you want to do each day.

 

I would also like to see weight saving measures be taken as seriously as increased power.

I mean the LS has gone up 500 lbs, I read the new Highlander will go up 500 lbs.

These two examples the new car/suv will be larger, more powerful, stifffer, and have more features. But I'd like to see some middle ground such as yes to all the above but only make the weight go up 200 lbs (or so).

Cars like the SL mercedes and M6 (etc..) already are too heavy. 4200+ lbs for a 2-seater (or 2+2 coupe) is excesive. I'd like to see some cars weigh rolled back especially a car like the SL mercedes which is very expensive and can use light weight materials more easily absorb the cost than mainstream cars.

 

good one. I'd like to see that become more commonplace too. The obvious question is whether the cylinder deactivation will work [well] on anything but V8's. Can you even do deactivation on V6's, and have the engine run smoothly?

 

Honda has it on some of their engines....and, as you know, there are no production Honda V8's.