While the following transportation-related innovations may not provide clues to what lies ahead for getting from point A to point B — they sure would be fun to test-drive.

Submersible Car
Who doesn't dream of driving one of James Bond's swanky cars? Swiss company Rinspeed is turning that dream into a reality, and a watery one at that. With the invention of sQuba — "the world's first submersible car" — Rinspeed has created a car that even 007 himself would envy. The car, constructed by Swiss engineering company Esoro, is said to drive on land, float on water, dive to a depth of 33 ft., and "move like a fish in water." Apparently inspired by the Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me, the sQuba was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Image via Rinspeed

Inflatable Electric Car
Inflatable chairs we've heard of, but inflatable cars? XP Vehicles, a start-up in California, is advertising just that, with its inflatable electric car called the Whisper. The mail-order car supposedly takes two hours to assemble and can run up to 2,500 miles on one charge of the "hotswap XPack Multi-Core fuel-efficient battery-pack." Manufactured from NASA-grade inflatable material, the durable Whisper is said to endure driving off a cliff and can float in water — since it's inflatable, we're guessing finding a parking spot isn't a concern. (via Gizmodo and Ubergizmo)

Submarine for Self
Reaching a maximum surface speed of 40 knots and a 500 mile range, Marion Hyper-Submersible Powerboat Design, LLC's Hyper-Sub is the world's first autonomous small submarine. Engineer Reynolds Marion, who built the sub prototype, is now subjecting the model to endurance tests in hopes of an eventual commercial release. "What the helicopter did for air travel, the Hyper-Sub will do for marine travel," Marion has stated. (via JustLuxé and TechEBlog)

NASA's Roller Coaster
Finally, with summer now upon us and amusement park lines growing longer by the day, now seems as good a time as any mention NASA's latest toy: a roller coaster, of sorts.

The space agency calls it the Orion Emergency Egress System, but it is basically a group of multi-passenger cars on a set of rails similar to a roller coaster. The system is designed to move astronauts and ground crew quickly from the vehicle entry on the launch pad to a protective concrete bunker in case of an emergency. Astronauts will jump into tram cars and head face-down toward the ground from a height of approximately 116 meters, or 380 feet.

"Once completed in 2012, the NASA 'coaster will be the world's third tallest, after the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, and the Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio." (Sources: NASA and Space.com)

Did You Know...

... that the first American automobile race took place in Chicago's Jackson Park in November 1895? American-born J. Frank Duryea won the 54-mile race in a little over 10 hours, averaging a whopping 7.3 miles per hour and beating out the German-engineered Benz? Only two years earlier, Duryea along with his brother Charles had built and driven what they claimed to be the first American gas-powered automobile. (Sources: The Library of Congress and About.com: Inventors)

... that Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of diesel fuel, said in his patent application: "The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become in the course of time as important as petroleum and coal tar products in the present time." Wise words, indeed. Who says you have to eat your vegetables? (Source: GreenCar.com)

... that most North American car horns are tuned to the musical key of F? (Source: Canadian Automobile Association Magazine)

... that the U.S. Transportation Department recently decided to start using female crash test dummies? At 4'8 and 108 lbs, these dummies also double as large children. The new dummy will be used to investigate industry data that suggests smaller women are more prone to injuries when riding in the front passenger seat. (Source: The Washington Post)

... that the engine roar of a Harley-Davidson V-Twin engine was almost an official trademark? Harley-Davidson sought legal protection of the sound after Japanese motorcycle manufacturers tried to duplicate the signature rumble in the 1980s, but later withdrew the trademark application. (Source: Canadian Automobile Association Magazine)