# Driving an invisible car **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721 "2010-06-18T22:31:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/1 "2010-06-18T22:31:39Z")
Ok, let’s say Batman had an invisible car that worked the same way as Wonder Woman’s invisible jet. Is there any benefit to this? Or would other drivers just constantly be driving into him? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/2 "2010-06-18T22:38:32Z")
No, the dotted outline gives it away. 😃 Seriously, yes. It might clue some in seeing Batman sitting in the air doing 60 but you still can’t see how long or wide the car is. Even worse when he parks. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/3 "2010-06-18T22:42:37Z")
Considering the traffic volume everywhere today the car would be useless. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/4 "2010-06-18T22:43:58Z")
Other drivers would be driving into him - if, you know, the Batmobile ever actually was on the road with other cars. He’d look silly. He’d lose the intimidation factor of _The Batmobile_. He’d never be able to find where he parked it. An invisible motorcycle, on the other hand… Specifically one ridden prone, rather than upright. Short and close enough to the same length as him that drivers would have a general idea where it was, and he’d look like he was flying, which would be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/5 "2010-06-18T22:46:13Z")
I’d like to see him on invisible roller skates. Now that would be cool. He’d look as if he was gliding, man! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/6 "2010-06-18T22:46:53Z")
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy have one. After they got it they realized it was a stupid idea. They can never find it when they need it, they push the wrong buttons and they’ve been burned by the exhaust pipe on more then one occasion. Yeah, I watch Sponge Bob, wanna fight about it. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/7 "2010-06-19T00:00:07Z")
I don’t know if we’ve ever discussed this before, but this brings up the whole question of “how the heck can the Batmobile not get followed by the authorities?” It would make more sense for Batman to drive a fairly nondescript car (which I believe he did in the 1970s era). Or an invisible car might work if you mean the car and everything inside it was invisible, like how it’s hypothetically possible to build a container that bends light completely around it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/8 "2010-06-19T00:17:56Z")
There’s a bit in one of the _Bureau 13_ books where they had to drive their armored motorhome cross country very quickly. At one point they decided to turn it invisible (magic), then very shortly dropped that tactic because it was too dangerous. Without being able to see them, people tended to change lanes right in front of them or directly into them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/9 "2010-06-19T01:06:38Z")
As a clarification, I meant the car is invisible like the Wonder jet. So you still see Batman sitting inside. It does not work like James Bond’s invisible car. So Batman could not park it by criminals for stealth surveillance. One idea was that the Batmobile moves far faster than regular traffic when the jet burner is engaged. Therefore, Batman must have superior driving skills and reflexes to avoid other cars. If he drives that way, it doesn’t matter if his car is invisible or not. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/10 "2010-06-19T01:17:39Z")
I always thought the idea of Wonder Woman’s plane having a _cloaking device_ makes more sense than just being invisible, where she’s not invisible as she flies it. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/11 "2010-06-19T01:29:34Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > As a clarification, I meant the car is invisible like the Wonder jet. So you still see Batman sitting inside. It’s going to be a real bitch to figure out when he needs to get gas, I’ll tell you _that_ right now. On the plus side, he doesn’t have to worry about bullet proofing the glass…just use (invisible) plate steel. 'Course, that also means he’s slightly _more_ dead if he needs to get out of the car in a hurry (like if he drives off a pier). Honestly, I think the best use would probably be if he pulled one of the invisible doors off and used it like a shield, so he could make people think he was deflecting bullets and melee attacks with his mind or something. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/12 "2010-06-19T01:44:11Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I always thought the idea of Wonder Woman’s plane having a _cloaking device_ makes more sense than just being invisible, where she’s not invisible as she flies it. I never understood what was the point of Wonder Woman having an invisible plane when objects inside are still visible. :dubious: Also if the inside was invisible too then she wouldn’t she not be able to see the controls so how the hell did she fly it in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/13 "2010-06-19T01:44:49Z")
It’d be a bitch to service that thing. Don’t _ever_ forget where you parked it. If it is stolen, how you going to describe it to the police? Or find it? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/14 "2010-06-19T02:16:39Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I never understood what was the point of Wonder Woman having an invisible plane when objects inside are still visible. :dubious: Also if the inside was invisible too then she wouldn’t she not be able to see the controls so how the hell did she fly it in the first place? A plane is a lot bigger and more obvious than a person; and unlike an invisible car she’s far up in the sky, making her harder to see. That part actually makes a certain amount of sense. Invisible controls though are a bit more problematic… ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/15 "2010-06-19T15:57:01Z")
You’d need an audible altimeter, fuel gauge, horizon thingy, etc. Hm. Does an invisible car have headlights? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/16 "2010-06-19T18:02:41Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Hm. Does an invisible car have headlights? Sure, but they’re invisible, so you can’t tell if they’re on or not. This makes it a bitch to remember to turn them off. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/17 "2010-06-19T21:06:14Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > If it is stolen, how you going to describe it to the police? \ “It looks just like that one!” Wait. . . . It _is_ that one! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/18 "2010-06-19T22:09:41Z")
Instruments are an aid to navigation, not an absolute necessity. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/19 "2010-06-20T02:05:32Z")
An engine fire warning light would be kinda handy, though. ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicolas_Bourbaki)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721/20 "2010-06-20T02:08:28Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Instruments are an aid to navigation, not an absolute necessity. They are if you’re in a cloud, flying at night, or just about any possible weather condition short of ‘absolutely perfect’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-an-invisible-car/543721.md?page=2)