Some amazing developments are happening in the world of automobile engineering. First, have a peek at the armored Ford Syn. No need to worry about leaving your laptop in your urban assault armored car vault. It’s a safe on wheels, but what’s the fuel/price tag for this level of protection?

The design of the Ford SYNUS concept was inspired by bank vaults and armored cars. The vehicle is designed for a population moving out of the suburbs and back into big cities.

What does that say about the current feelings in corporate America? Don’t make the cities safer, make the boxes we live in stronger? Ugh. There has to be a more reasonable balance of resources, one that recognizes the inherent flaw in trying to apply a financial data risk model to a daily commute vehicle.

Let me try to put that a different way: urban spaces are broken down into natural security zones that we often refer to as “neighborhoods”, with many overlapping groups with common goals. It’s not always roses, but compare this to suburban areas that often lack layers of protection and end up leaving families with the self-imposed responsibility of defending themselves from outsiders. Rural dwellers are thus the most extreme in the spectrum as they often are literally on their own when it comes to security. So, if you were to design an urban vehicle for future security needs, would it be for those from outside the city coming to visit and believing they need all the robustness of a moon-landing vehicle, or for people who want to re-assimilate into a truly “developed” urban area and to extend a shared support structure…if you get my drift.

Now contemplate the open airy look of the Peugeot Moovie. Amazing to see something like this. It just seems so right, although the idea of a stable smooth surface and consistent power grid or alternative fuel source (e.g. well-engineered public infrastructure) means…well, you probably know where I’m going with this. Nothing like seeing the pictures of the Moovie to put a little hope back in your saddle, even if it means moving to somewhere other than a barren wasteland of armored SUVs.

And finally, a dose of reality. Michellin has announced the Tweel and suggested that pneumatics are finally going to be a thing of the past. I’m looking forward to the motorcycle version of this technology.

The problem with the centuries-old air-filled design was that air, just like information, always wants to be free. Hmmm, can we envision a world of tweel-like data security?