An interesting post over at Marginal Revolution notes that predictions of future transportation always have a lot of "gee whiz" yet when we finally arrive at the time of the predictions, things look a lot like they were. Is it steady progress that makes the changes seem small or are things really not changing much?
Motorcycles and cars are faster, more powerful, more fuel efficient and made with a lot of new materials but look at their history and a time traveller from a hundred years back would recognize today's vehicles in an instant. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd bet things will be changing on about the same timetable in the future. People keep coming up with ideas but practical application keeps things on the same level.