For those of us who grew up in the '80s, there's one catchphrase that defined our hopes and expectations for what the automobile could be like in that far, far distant future when we became as old as Marty McFly's parents: "where we're going, we don't need roads." But here we are in 2011, facing our forties, and we still need roads. The steering wheel is another matter. Indeed, if there's any component of the car as we know it that's about to be go unneeded thanks to technological innovation, it's the driver.

It's a shame that the earthbound, driverless reality of the real-world future of the automobile isn't nearly so much fun as the future-car fantasies that moviemakers and scientists have dangled before us over the past century. In this short gallery, Ars takes a look back at what we all thought that driving might one day be like in the future.

Da Vinci's Self-propelled Cart

The self-driving car might appear to be a recent invention, but like flying machines and armored tanks, it had its roots in the 15th and 16th century—specifically, in the workshop of Italian renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci. His primitive, self-propelled cart was one of many designs the inventor drew throughout his lifetime, even though it may have never been built.

In truth, the vehicle was far less a traditional automobile than it was an oversized wind-up toy, and it relied on a series of tightly wound coil springs to propel itself forward. Unique, however, was the ability to "program" the cart's direction using a system of specially placed woodblocks—essentially a primitive method of automation. A working model was recently produced by American engineer Mark Rosheim in 2000, and later, one was shown in Florence, Italy.

Da Vinci never actually planned to have the cart transport objects or people; he designed the contraption for the purpose of entertainment at Renaissance-era festivals instead. However, that's probably for the best; the cart could only be programmed to turn right, a shortcoming we're glad modern vehicles have long-since overcome.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Ian Fleming is known mainly for the creation of British super-spy James Bond. However, he also produced one piece of children's fiction, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Taking cues from old aero-engine racing cars—vehicles with powerful airplane engines attached—Fleming developed his tale of a car that is revealed to have impressive powers hidden within.

For example, when the car's eccentric owner Caractacus Pott is caught in traffic, the vehicle produces wings and flies overhead instead. Later, the car manages to transform into a hovercraft, traveling on water, and it even exhibits signs of intelligence and external awareness—like an early 20th century version of Knight Rider's KITT.

Fleming's story was eventually turned into a feature film of the same name in 1968, with a screenplay adapted by popular author Roald Dahl, giving moviegoers the chance to see the outlandish vehicle imagined on the big screen. In both cases, the foresight exhibited by both Fleming and Dahl is impressive—even if the car was intended to be more magical than futuristic.

Disney's EPCOT and The Magic Highway

The late Walt Disney is perhaps best known for producing some of the most popular and beloved animated features of all time. However, in 1958, Disney and his animators envisioned a world in which cars would drive far above the earth on massive, raised highways.

As explained in Disney's old, animated short, the vehicles on this "Magic Highway" would be fully automated; a driver simply "chooses the route in advance on a push-button selector, [and] electronics take over complete control. Progress can be accurately checked on a synchronized scanning map." Looking back, Disney got one thing right—those accurate, synchronized maps have been fully realized in the form of GPS navigation devices and smartphones. The promise of automation, however, is still a work in progress.

Years later, Disney pitched another, more comprehensive concept known as EPCOT—the Experimental Community Prototype of Tomorrow. This visionary blueprint imagined a Disney-built city that would be free of cars, long before pollution and environmental concerns dominated the public conscience. The plan was to designate sidewalks and roads as pedestrian areas, diverting any necessary vehicles underneath the idyllic cityscape.

Sadly, EPCOT's original design was scrapped following Disney's death in 1966, and it developed into a theme park instead.

The Chrysler "Solar Sedan"

From the minute the first Ford Model Ts rolled off the assembly lines, our oil-dependent future was sealed. However, a few smart-thinking visionaries one day realized that, instead of looking below for our insatiable fuel fix, it might be worth looking above—to the most plentiful source of energy we know. The sun, it was theorized, could one day be used to power everything form our homes to our vehicles, and futurists were giddy with optimism.

In fact, it wasn't uncommon to find manufacturers like Chrysler musing on the possibility of a solar-powered future. In 1958, then-Chrysler vice-president James C. Zeder predicted that, as the efficiency of solar panels increased, it could be possible to harness that energy for use in so-called "solar sedans." And in 1987 that's exactly what GM did, producing one of the most impressive solar-powered racecars to date—the Sunraycer.

Of course, the idealistic "solar sedan" envisioned by Chrysler over 50 years ago is still a long ways off—and even today, solar-powered vehicles require custom engines and aerodynamic designs just to function reliably. Still, it's not bad progress for what was once just a pipe dream in the minds of futurists and automotive VPs.