Over at the Institute for the Future's "Future Now" blog, my colleague Anthony Townsend writes about GMC's concept truck PAD, "an urban loft with mobility," according to the car company. While it probably won't ever be built, it's a great weak signal pointing at some larger themes we're exploring at the Institute. From Anthony's post:
While cars.com gives this an official "zero chance of production", I think its a lot more realistic vision of the future than it may at first appear…
IFTF's Technology Horizons program is focusing its research this year on the theme of "lightweight infrastructure. These new infrastructure designs will emphasize smaller, smarter, more independent components that can be organized in ways that are more efficient, more flexible, and more secure than the capital-intensive networks of the 20th century.
While at first, the PAD concept may appear as the culmination of the ever-bigger trend in SUVs in America, we can also see it as a lightweight alternative to the traditional home or apartment.
