Friday
Dec112009
Quick-Change Car Colors (1958)
Friday, December 11, 2009 at 8:46PM ;)
Imagine a Hypercolor t-shirt. Now, instead of a t-shirt, imagine a car. And instead of a lame 90's fashion fad, imagine a lame 90's automotive fad.
The September 21, 1958 edition of Arthur Radebaugh's Closer Than We Think illustrated just such a possible fad. I mean... innovation.
The automobile industry is studying a new kind of specially sensitive car body finish whose color can be changed at will. An electromagnetic gun would emit rays that would instantly "repaint" the car in any desired hue or combination -- perhaps to harmonize with milady's new fall outfit.
D. S. Harder, retired executive vice-president at Ford, recently described research in this direction. He added that this new kind of "photosensitive" surface would also be self-cleaning -- with the silent energy of static electricity or a supersonic vibrator driving off all dust and dirt.
Previously on Paleo-Future:
- Disney's Magic Highway, U.S.A. (1958)
- Closer Than We Think (1958-1963)
- Chrysler VP Predicts Solar-Powered Cars (1958)
- Cars Detroit Forgot To Build, 1950-1960
- Flying Family Car (1958)
- GM Car of the Future (1962)
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Reader Comments (3)
I found some articles from 2007 that project this as coming in 2010. No gun involved, though. (I'd googled "car changing color" -- I was actually looking for something I recalled seeing, probably a concept car, that actually did change colors, though it did it by being covered with LCDs or something. The technology described in the 2007 articles seems much closer to that suggested in the 1958 piece.)
Bizarre, yet neat - my first thought was Iridigm-style diffraction-based displays.
Sounds like the modern incarnation could be similar to what was proposed here, but more baked after decades of experience with display technologies.
For self-cleaning, it'd probably be easier to incorporate a photocatalyst into the clearcoat. But apparently those require thin-film deposition right now.
Feel the need to add something on top of his car. When used with the purpose of going to the office, shop or any place of work, which requires nothing more to go. Therefore, the need for roof racks or roof is not felt. But sometimes, when traveling with your family and friends and needs to carry loads of luggage, you feel the need. Is the owner of a vehicle used for commercial purposes, such as taking passengers from here to there the need for the incorporation of cameras in the roof of his car more than others?
Therefore, there must be some place where they should be placed. If there is something like the racks or boxes then the task will not be easy.