Cars these days are more powerful, more efficient, safer, and packed with more technological wizardry than any time in history. Heck, now Cadillac’s even got Super Cruise technology, which basically drives the car for you. But even while cars have more ‘more’ than anyone could have ever imagined, they all seem fairly vanilla. I mean, I spent hours poring over the auto industry’s latest at the NY auto show this year and, while there were plenty of obscenely drool-worthy rides, I was struck by the thought that, at this point, the basic formula for a car is pretty much set in stone.Sure, cars will get more of everything they’ve got now, but I’m not expecting anything as lunatic as Ford’s nuclear-powered Nucleon truck any time soon. Take Chevy, Cadillac’s parent, for example. The Volt is touted as an engineering marvel, but in terms of ground-breaking concepts, it’s still just a remix of the battery hybrid concept.Compare that to 1936, when Chevy touted the Boudoir Express, an absurd land train full of women in bikinis. This whole promo reel is full of gems — a talking police car yelling “Listen lady!” before lecturing her on streetlight laws is a definite highlight. . But let me say that again: a train full of bikini-clad women, that you can drive! Dear automakers, forget hybrids, lifestyle branding, and the Fiat 500’s attempt at making cheap the next cool thing, and listen up: What I want, as a representative of the young demographic you covet so much, is a bikini train. Make it happen!Follow Derek Mead on Twitter: @drderekmead.
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