The problem with Pod Man

Abstract

Pod Man is the rational, individual and hyper-masculine transport consumer entrenched in industry narratives focused on automated vehicle technologies and infrastructures. This article interrogates how these narratives are constituted, the futures they imagine, predict and promote, and how people and households are presented within these futures. The discussions in this article are based on a content analysis of sixty industry reports. While there is an emerging body of research engaging with the gendered and racialised dimensions of future automated mobilities, previous studies have for the most part focused on conceptual and promotional visualisations of automated vehicles. Building on this existing work, I argue that equal attention needs to be paid to the ideologies and agendas embedded in industry reports. Taken together, the visual representations and industry reports contribute to large scale anticipatory narratives about possible futures. To better understand and critique the values and logics of these narratives, I discuss how the Pod Man persona underlies visions of automated vehicles and its potential consequences for shaping potential future trajectories.