Autopia: The Future of Cars

by Jon Bentley

Overview

Cars are one of the most significant human creations. They changed our cities. They changed our lives. They changed everything. But in the next  years, this technology will itself change enormously. If Google get their way, are we all going to be ferried around in tiny electric bubble-cars? Or will we watch robots race a bionic Lewis Hamilton? And what about the future of classic cars? Autopia celebrates motoring's rich heritage and meets the engineers (and coders) who are transforming cars forever. From mobile hotel rooms to electric battery technology; from hydrogen-powered cars to jetpacks, Autopia is the essential guide to the future of our greatest invention. Fully designed with illustrations and photographs, this will be the perfect gift for car and technology enthusiasts everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786496355
Publisher:	Atlantic Books
Publication date:	01/01/2021
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jon Bentley is a host on The Gadget Show. He was the producer and executive producer of Top Gear for many years and has a bend named after him on the program's test track. 

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why the Car Matters 3

1 Connected and Autonomous: the Rise of the Robot Cars 9

2 Sparking Innovation: Alternative Power and the Future of the Internal Combustion Engine 49

3 Designing the Future: How the Shape of Cars will Change 99

4 Speeding Ahead: the Future of Performance Cars and Motorsport 139

5 Hackers and Crash-Test Dummies: Safety and the Age of Automation 179

6 The Future of the Past: Classic Cars and Enthusiast Drivers 211

Conclusion: Is the Car Dead? 245

Image Credits 255

Index 257

Editorial Reviews

11/09/2020

“It’s time for the car industry to catch up” to the world’s rapid technological advances, advises Bentley, former executive producer of Top Gear, in his uneven debut. He opens with a section on “Why the Car Matters,” in which he declares “the car has been an extraordinary global success story, extending its influence over most of the planet and transforming vast tranches of human life” and explores the “most talked about and most ambitious” prediction for cars’ future—the self-driving (or autonomous) vehicle. This is the focus of his survey, and Bentley highlights the technical challenges of creating artificial intelligence and explains the complexity of AI processes such as deep learning. The chapter “Sparking Innovation” explores alternative power sources, both the familiar (electricity) and obscure (compressed air), and the final chapter, “The Future of the Past,” asks what will happen to collectible cars; Bentley fears they’ll be banned due to inefficiency. While the author’s appreciation of automobiles comes through, the text leans toward the specialist, as with a numbers-heavy review of hybrid efficiencies and a survey of concept car shapes that references a slew of specific models. Car nuts eager for the arrival of autonomous vehicles should give this a look. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

An interesting read... thorough enough to delight even those who consider themselves to be on the ball with industry developments. - Auto Express

Jon is a passionate, articulate and characteristic car man who has a canny knack of capturing the very essence of the sector I love so much! Exactly what he has done with Autopia. Brilliant. - Ant Anstead, presenter of Channel 4's For the Love of Cars

• Jon Bentley is a true petrolhead. In Autopia, Jon makes even complex automotive innovations easy to understand. I couldn't put it down. - Mike Brewer, presenter of Wheeler Dealers

• An enjoyable, fact-filled conversation with uncle Jon, taking us on a road trip through the speed bumps and detours on our journey towards an Autopian future. - Edd China, TV presenter and author of Grease Junkie

• Intelligent, honest, and extremely interesting. Just like Jon. - Richard Porter, founder of Sniff Petrol, and script editor of The Grand Tour

• Fascinating and entertaining. No one is better placed than Jon Bentley to open up the past, present and future of the motor car. - Tiff Needell, former presenter of Top Gear and Fifth Gear

From the Publisher

2020-10-07
An update on the pioneering state of intelligent automobile technology.

Bentley, a host on The Gadget Show and former executive producer for Top Gear, believes cars are both a significant transportation convenience and a “powerful psychological force,” but he acknowledges that the industry must continually evolve to remain relevant. After a streamlined history lesson and an outline of automation, the author explores modern technological advances in speed, efficiency, and gadgetry. He explains revolutionary “deep-learning” system advancements in autopilot car automation, including facial recognition, self-parking, and sound management technology, and he looks at the advent of robotaxis and the main manufacturing players behind them. While many of these thrilling enhancements look great on paper, the author effectively communicates the constant obstacles facing the visionary developers polishing their ultramodern innovations. This is the case with intuitive brain-to-vehicle technology, whereby electroencephalography transcribes a driver’s brainwaves via a cumbersome skull cap, as well as problematic laser-powered navigation and car-to-car communication technologies. Bentley shares his fascination with electric cars—though they are plagued with sluggish charging times, battery woes, and “range anxiety”—and the long-range potentiality of diesel and hydrogen fuel sources. While the author’s expertise and passion for cars are evident throughout, he doesn’t shy away from discussing the many hurdles of automotive innovation—e.g., job losses for professional drivers, traffic congestion, and compromised security and safety of driverless technology and its vulnerability to hackers. He tosses in plenty of entertaining surprises: fully driverless, remote-controlled freight trucks and taxis, trailblazing solutions to driver distractions, Elon Musk’s “hyperloop pods,” and the astonishing speed and hefty price tags of the hybrid Hypercar line. In nimbly balancing industry developments and challenges—he also includes a chapter on the endangered culture of classic car enthusiasts—Bentley offers an illuminating and spirited report on the technological wizardry of the car automation revolution.

An impressively researched and fascinating look at the cars coming to a future near you.

Kirkus Reviews