In theory cars aren't a bad thing. Personal mobility, etc. And they have been a good reason to advance all sorts of interesting technologies. So I try to keep an open mind when I go to the Auto Show each year.

While there are more photos coming, and an entire project post as well, these are some preliminary results from my IR camera. 

The auto show is always a strange experience for me. This was my ninth consecutive year visiting, and while some of the displays seemed exactly the same – I don't speak Model Year – there was more reliance on video screens and less on large graphics and displays.

What really got to me this year – much more than in other years – was the massive disparities on display. The carmakers are smart, or employ people who are, and look at trends and markets. They must be forecasting the social and economic effects of wealth inequality, climate collapse, and any other issue you can think of.

And in every single case they've decided to come down on the wrong side of each issue. They're the trophy hunters going for the last big kill before that species goes extinct; they're the extractive industries and governments trying to get that last bit of tar to the market before the fire season starts again.

An electric five thousand pound single-user vehicle is still a five thousand pound single user vehicle. This is the same as the fast-food giants introducing paper straws for their plastic cups to assuage public opinion, or introducing a high-fat salad to mitigate their future lawsuit settlements over their food quality.

Change is going to demolish this business – it has to – but they're not about to help out if there's still money to be made.