![\"kITT\"](\"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/kITT.jpg\")
<\/a>The other half scored some DVD versions of some 1980s TV series over the weekend, and it\u2019s been a chance to rewatch some old favourites and to watch some of those things I wasn\u2019t allowed to watch as a kid. Among the collection was a set of Knight Rider episodes. You know the one \u2013 the one with the very high-tech futuristic Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am called KITT driven by crime fighter Michael Knight.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s intriguing to think that a lot of the car designers and inventors of today \u2013 at least the ones who got to watch American TV shows \u2013 probably watched this show and similar, and were inspired by it. KITT, after all, was the high-tech car of the future and had all the gadgets and features that people dreamed of having in cars.<\/p>\n
So, thirty years later, how is the automotive technology world doing? How close are we to having KITTs of our own?<\/p>\n
- \n
- Full colour display screens<\/b> \u2013 yes, we\u2019ve got this one. In fact, we\u2019ve gone one better than KITT, as today\u2019s computer screens are touch-sensitive, something that even futuristic TV show writers hadn\u2019t even thought of.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Knight-Rider-KITT-21\"](\"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Knight-Rider-KITT-21-300x199.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
- \n
- Navigation. <\/b>Again, one big tick in this box.\u00a0 OK, with today\u2019s navigation, you get shown a map with the route and the car tells you when you have to turn, rather than having the car doing the turns just about by itself like KITT seemed to. And yes, it is possible to buy the voice of KITT for some navigation systems (try http:\/\/www.navtones.com\/<\/a> for a start).<\/b><\/li>\n
- Hands-free dialling. <\/b>Another big tick here!\u00a0 We once all went \u201coooh!\u201d when Michael Knight told KITT to dial up Devon or Dr Bonnie (or April in Series 2). When my kids watched the DVD with us, their reaction was \u201cSo what?\u201d\u00a0 We do indeed have hands-free and sometimes voice-activated dialling in our car phones.\u00a0 KITT impressed viewers in the 1980s with the way that the people phoned communicated with Michael via a screen Skype style.\u00a0 We probably do have the technology to Skype while driving these days \u2013 there are a number of car computers that let you use a few online apps (some of the new Infiniti <\/a>models, for example). However, a big question mark comes up as to whether this is a good idea. It\u2019s probably more distracting than texting while driving. And we all know how bad this is.<\/b><\/li>\n
- Turbo boost.<\/b>\u00a0 With a press of a button, KITT could go superfast. We\u2019re sort of getting there. Heaps of cars have different driving modes \u2013 usually Eco, Normal and Sport \u2013 and the Sport setting does help you get some extra responsive vroom. However, normal cars\u2019 boost does not let them jump things with rocket assistance like KITT did. Imagine the headaches for traffic control if this was a standard feature. KITT did have different drive modes, too: Normal (Michael in charge), Auto Cruise (KITT drives himself), Pursuit (both of them share control, with KITT doing most of the stuff at high speed, because he\/it reacts faster) and Super Pursuit (screamingly fast and speeds over 300 mph). Don\u2019t look for Super Pursuit in any production car\u2026<\/li>\n
- The front scanner.\u00a0 <\/b>On KITT, this was the cool-looking red lights on the front bumper (which are also illegal, as red is the signal meaning \u201cthis is the back of the car, guys\u201d).\u00a0 This allowed KITT to see things on the road ahead.\u00a0 Again, we\u2019re getting there. A lot of new cars do have sensors all over the show that do detect things in front of you or in the blind spot. A few of them \u2013 notably the new Mercedes<\/a> models \u2013 also have a head-up display that identifies speed limit signs and other things of that sort, popping them up on the windscreen. But nothing quite as sophisticated as KITT, who could hear and smell into the bargain.<\/b><\/li>\n
- Auto Collision Avoidance.\u00a0 <\/b>KITT could dodge things and take matters into its (his?) own hands if a collision was imminent. Modern cars can\u2019t zigzag like KITT but some of them can start applying the brakes and the like if it thinks you\u2019re about to crash. They don\u2019t dodge out of the way, though.\u00a0 <\/b><\/li>\n
- Computer print out.<\/b>\u00a0 Not yet.\u00a0 Theoretically, though, the technology exists, so it\u2019s a possibility.<\/li>\n
- Hydrogen gas engines that can run on anything combustible.<\/b>\u00a0 Again, not yet.\u00a0 We do, however, have electric engines that just need recharging.<\/li>\n
- Flame throwers, tear gas jets and lasers.<\/b> \u00a0Not on your typical production car for obvious reasons. Not even cop cars have tear gas or tasers fitted. Nor do they have microlock that uses microwaves to trigger the brakes of other cars.<\/li>\n
- ATM machine.<\/b>\u00a0 Dream on!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There are some rumours circulating that there\u2019s a movie adaptation of Knight Rider coming out in the near future.\u00a0 Wonder what futuristic technology the new KITT will have to inspire the car designers of the future. http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/offers-zaim\/ezaem-zaim-online-za-15-minut.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The other half scored some DVD versions of some 1980s TV series over the weekend, and it\u2019s been a chance to rewatch some old favourites and to watch some of those things I wasn\u2019t allowed to watch as a kid. Among the collection was a set of Knight Rider episodes. You know the one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3778"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11990,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778\/revisions\/11990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Hands-free dialling. <\/b>Another big tick here!\u00a0 We once all went \u201coooh!\u201d when Michael Knight told KITT to dial up Devon or Dr Bonnie (or April in Series 2). When my kids watched the DVD with us, their reaction was \u201cSo what?\u201d\u00a0 We do indeed have hands-free and sometimes voice-activated dialling in our car phones.\u00a0 KITT impressed viewers in the 1980s with the way that the people phoned communicated with Michael via a screen Skype style.\u00a0 We probably do have the technology to Skype while driving these days \u2013 there are a number of car computers that let you use a few online apps (some of the new Infiniti <\/a>models, for example). However, a big question mark comes up as to whether this is a good idea. It\u2019s probably more distracting than texting while driving. And we all know how bad this is.<\/b><\/li>\n
- Navigation. <\/b>Again, one big tick in this box.\u00a0 OK, with today\u2019s navigation, you get shown a map with the route and the car tells you when you have to turn, rather than having the car doing the turns just about by itself like KITT seemed to. And yes, it is possible to buy the voice of KITT for some navigation systems (try http:\/\/www.navtones.com\/<\/a> for a start).<\/b><\/li>\n