What's your dream car? Mine is a Chevy SSR. It may be impractical — they may call it a "fake truck" — but I don't care: the SSR will always have a special place in my heart. It was just beautiful, and unique, and whenever I see one on the highway, I can't help the words from coming out: "Hi, pretty…" There are cars that desire, delight, and awe. And even if those cars can't grace our garages (yet), they can grace our home screens.
My daily driver is a minivan, and as a minivan driver, I can't help but fantasize about the best minivan ever: the VW Minibus! Volkswagen keeps teasing and taunting us into thinking they're going to finally bring back one of the most iconic automobiles… But the concept cars never go beyond the trade shows, and the artist renders get more and more beautiful, but they never jump off the page into a dealer showroom. Well, until they do, I'm gonna keep dreaming of a Minibus to replace my aging Odyssey and I'm gonna dream… and put the majesty of yesteryear on my home screen.
VW camper van by adamduckworth
Walk into a room and say Tesla, and at least half of them are gonna think of a sweet-ass electric car that's learning how to drive itself and is intensely fun to navigate when you give the autopilot a break. The Model 3 is still at least a little while away, but let's face it, it's gonna be worth it. And if a Tesla and Launch Mode sparks excitement in your soul, you should probably head to Tesla Central, where Derek Kessler is serving up Tesla love and presiding over an electric car-lover's forum.
If you open your phone and you see that iconic Tesla 'T' symbol on your home screen, here's to hoping you get that spark every time.
Tesla Model S Insignia by Derek Kessler
Tesla isn't the only name in electric cars anymore. The all-electric Chevy Bolt EV has been a long-time coming, and according to our own MrMobile, it's the first EV that's really made for the average driver rather than the money-to-burn early adopters that Tesla has delivered vehicles to so far. There's still a lot of work to be done before most of us can switch from a gas pump to a charge port, but it's a step I'm thrilled to see more major car manufacturers testing. Not all cars can be as pretty as a Tesla, but so long as we see more of these ports under the old gas doors, I think things will turn out alright.
Speaking of cars that drive themselves, Waymo holds a glimpse of a future that divides rooms with the strong emotions it evokes. Waymo wants to take the wheel away from easily-distracted, over-worked, sleep-deprived, error-prone humans. As someone who works two jobs and makes a 90-mile drive to and from my parents' house every other weekend or so, I've been ready for self-driving cars forever, as I fought getting my license until I was 18, and the only reason I ever learned to enjoy it was listening to music and singing while I drove. Is there a rush you get from going 85 down a mostly-empty freeway? You bet. But I'll gladly give up the feel of speeding to get there without me drifting lanes and without having to brake and roll through five-mile backups on I-35.
Okay, I know motorcycles aren't quite cars, but they inspire freedom, fresh air, and are just as good as their four-wheeled brethren. This illustration from Babs Tarr, of Motor Crush and Batgirl fame shows off two of her loves: motorcycles and Sailor Moon. From the custom bikes to the punk-rocker take on the Sailor Scouts, this is a wallpaper that's begging for a race (and maybe a custom comic).
But unless you get power from the Moon, you better wear a helmet out there!!
