What Will We Drive?

By FRANK GIBNEY JR.

ALL WHEELS GO Squat two-seat roadsters will lure the post-Yahoo generation. This concept car from GM, above, is based on new plastics that will make tomorrow's cars completely recyclable. Will they have a steering wheel or fly-by-wire joysticks?

BIG AND TALL Rather than stretching its cars, GM is experimenting with higher rooflines and flat, ultracompact engines to give its entry-level sedans, like the one above, extra space to haul cargo and people. Larger, lighter wheels, below, help add stability

HYBRID'S HYBRID Chrysler led the design revolution in the 1990s with streamlined, low-slung road rockets that all but did away with the notion of a hood. For 2025, Bryan Nesbitt, designer of today's PT Cruiser, above, envisions a mix of minivan, sport utility and pickup truck

ROAD WARRIORS New materials will give stylists new freedom. Nissan made its name in the 1970s with the racy 240Z coupe. At far right is a vision of the Z of tomorrow. The roadster at right is for the inveterate sportsman: note the oblong slot on the side for golf clubs

FUTURE COUPES The 2+2 Nissan study, below, is extremely low and wide--call it the road hugger of the 21st century. Its cousin, right, is a four-door sedan. Space-frame technology will allow vast windshields and cavernous interiors with few obstructions

STREAMLINED Ford design manager Ehab Kaoud believes that from now on, car styling will be driven more by function than form. "The idea is to optimize interior space while minimizing exterior volume," says Kaoud. Result: less weight, better gas mileage. The interior of the future Ford, left, will be infinitely customizable. Dashboards, for instance, may be vast displays with gauges, maps and video images arranged at whim