While the world of automobiles is filled with the newest technologies and exciting developments, there have also been some decidedly odd inventions in the vehicle industry that are worth noting says Oscar Collins the editor-in-chief of Modded.

As people await self-driving vehicles and the flying cars seen on early 2000s television, there are some innovations that thankfully never received the roadworthy stamp of approval. Although entertaining to look back on now, it’s best they remain a thing of the past.

  1. Children’s Partition

This innovation was a solution to every parent’s silence-seeking needs. Like a limousine, the partition could be drawn between the back and front seats. It is not commonplace in cars today because people made it clear they did not like the idea of being unable to see or hear their children as they drove.

  1. Rocket Brakes

Rocket brakes were somewhat counterintuitive. This innovation used actual rockets as brakes that were meant to be used only in emergencies. The issue with these was the sheer volume of gasoline they used and the fact that they were pretty dangerous for bystanders.

  1. The In-Car Toilet

You read it right. In the late 1940s, Cadillac manufactured a car with a toilet. The invention was due to the company’s desire to complete a cross-country nonstop drive in 1952. While the idea was entertained by much of the automotive industry for a while, it was eventually scrapped due to many issues.

  1. Modular Cars

These vehicles were created to be precisely the same as any other car, except for one key feature — the driver could change the bodywork quickly and easily. It could be a van one day and a slinky sports car the next. Italdesign released the concept in 1988, but it never took off.

  1. The Soybean Car

In August 1941, Henry Ford unveiled a plastic-bodied car with a tubular steel frame. It weighed just 2,000 pounds, and while there is no record of the formula used to make the plastic, it is believed that it consisted of hemp, soybeans, wheat, flax and ramie.

  1. Side-Mounted Flamethrowers

If this one doesn’t make sense, it’s probably because it was designed for a specific place. Due to the high number of carjackings, flamethrowers were intended for South African roads. While flamethrowers are popular on safari vehicles to keep wildlife at bay, BMW tried introducing the concept to luxury cars. However, the legal implications meant the idea never came to fruition.

  1. Parking Wheel

Parallel parking has gotten the better of even the most experienced drivers. However, this innovation was designed to solve everyone’s woes. The innovation saw a fifth retractable wheel lower from under the car’s trunk to guide the vehicle’s rear into a parking space.

Although an exciting invention at first, it soon became evident that the fifth wheel was too challenging to retract and deploy.

  1. Flying Cars

No, flying cars are not available in dealerships, and there is no sign that innovation will become a reality soon. However, Henry Ford endeavored to build a single-seater airplane in 1926.

Unfortunately, the plane’s pilot lost his life on the first test flight, leaving Ford to abandon the idea. However, he believed that eventually, there would be a vehicle that was a cross between a car and a plane.

Many still believe that flying cars will become commonplace during our lifetime because of all the recent automotive industry innovations. The closest invention was the Aeromobil 3.0, which looked and operated like a car but had wings so it could fly.

  1. Amphibious Cars

Amphibious cars were a popular idea in the 1950s and 1960s, with big names like Porsche and Land Rover experimenting with vehicles that could glide across a lake. However, it soon became clear that the target market was not as large as initially thought, so the idea was scrapped.

  1. Scent Dispensers

Scent dispensers were less of a mainstream innovation and more of a luxury car perk in their time. Vehicles featured an air freshener system on a timer that released fragrance at specific intervals.

While brands like Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti integrated this technology into some of their cars, many people developed allergies to the scents, reducing the sales pool.

These Strange Innovations Left Their Marks

While these strange and interesting car innovations are certainly entertaining to read about, society can be grateful that many of them did not take off — much like flying cars. Also, something about an in-car toilet just doesn’t scream “21st-century technology.”

As the world waits for the day to zoom through the skies in their vehicles, society can rest assured that professionals have already tried various technologies that didn’t work. However, who knows what the future holds?

 

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Author Bio: Oscar Collins is the editor-in-chief of Modded. He has over five years of experience writing in the auto space, having published with Automotive News, Carwash and InAutomotive. Follow him on X @TModded for frequent updates on his work.