fro and the cowboy monkey

So, I recently saw a blog entry by Tim Bray, and felt obliged to reply. Which led me to thinking.

I grew up reading Street Machine magazine and Fast Fours and Rotaries. I saw the evolution of modification from "Fit larger engine/fit larger carburettor/fit larger diff" to the age of fuel injection, turbos, aftermarket computers and electronic boost control. Initially there was concern that the technology would take away from the ability for backyard mechanics to modify their vehicles. But as we've seen over the last 30 years, it's actually allowed a lot more freedom. Sure, there's also a lot of scope to get it wrong, but there always has been.

The new age of the Hybrid opens up that door once more. Or should thatbe, even more? With a lot of talk around the Prius surrounding it's firmware updates, surely it's a matter of time before there's an "OpenCar" that allows for geek-hoons to hack their own vehicle features, or maybe sacrifice some of those features some of the time for performance?

And what about those who will add extra capacitors for short-term performance boost for the fastest low-emission quarter-mile? Higher capacity, lighter weight batteries? Superconductor or high-energy wound motors for extra power?

The future is half-open, not half-closed. The only uncertainty that puts me ill at ease also poses a question: Will there ever be a rat-rod Prii?