Classic cars often fetch some crazy prices at auctions, and back in May we told you how some South Africans have been coining it with their wise investments (HERE).

They might have that old-school allure, but if we’re looking forward then there’s also much to be excited about.

Wheels24 have taken a look at the emerging technologies that could (and should) make their way into the cars of the future, and it makes for an interesting look into what lies ahead.

They’ve listed 12 in an infographic, which you can see HERE, but we’ll choose a few that stand out:

• Biometric vehicle access – You can now access your smartphone with your fingerprint, but cars in the future will allow you to unlock and start your car by using your fingerprint too.

• Theft protection – Theft is a big concern to every car owner and there are already systems on the market that can remotely shutdown a vehicle that has been stolen. This technology will be widely used by car manufacturers in the future meaning that vehicle thefts will be widely reduced.

• Energy storing body panels – It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. Car manufacturers are already testing light weight body panels that can store energy and feed it back to the engine when it needs it. These panels can store energy produced by regenerative braking, during the charging phase or even solar power.

• Interactive heads up display – Window display technology isn’t new, but in the future these displays will contain much more information such as traffic patterns, weather and directions. These displays will also be interactive, allowing the driver to display specific information in real-time.

• Health monitoring – With fitness trackers becoming more popular than ever, car manufacturers are already looking at ways to monitor passenger’s health. Specialised vehicle sensors will track all aspects of our lives including fatigue and stress levels and will be capable of predicting infections and heart attacks.

All sounds pretty good, and a car that monitors fatigue will save many a life, but if my wheels start telling me to get out more we’re going to have a problem.

[source:wheels24]