From the 1930s through the 1960s, General Motors and other corporations carried out a relentless campaign to promote the automobile. It was so successful that many utopian science-fiction scenarios were written that involved cars in great number. Prototypes were built by the dozens. There was even a GM car at the 1964 World Fair that had a built-in removable shopping cart, to cater to modern women, described in the GM material as "poor drivers" and "avid shoppers."
A lot of people at MIT wear their computers like clothes. Disney is also “into” the future.