The idea is cool. I do wonder about the congestion in practice though. I can see it working in suburban areas, but what about a world trade center roof. I heard that 40,000 people worked there. 5pm would be interesting- even if the number was 10,000. If the car/planes talked to each other and were essentially autonomous, accidents could be curtailed I think. Its just the quantity of them in the cities that would make me wonder. Not saying it cant be done, but it seems very difficult

Term2: What about turning off the antigravity device :)... There are a lot of people I'd like to see with an antigravity device that could cause them to disappear into oblivion!
Dangerous and could back fire so better left out of the equation. A man can dream though...

Actually the sky would be safer than the highway, particularly with the machines doing the 'driving'. Also, the sky is a big place. I once hears someone say that if you took every single car in a typical LA rush hour, and put em in the air, there wouldn't need to be any car closer than one mile to the next. It didn't make a lot of sense to me until I started to learn about how congestion works in computer networks, but now I get it. By having each car being able to go from source to destination more quickly, you can move the same number of cars in the same amount of time faster because each one isn't in the air as long. There are also many many more slightly different paths for them to take... I would roll out from my garage, take off from my culdesac without ever going onto all the connecting roads, merge into traffic going the same general direction (which is how airspace works now) and then split off to land on the top level of my work parking structure, which I don't remember ever seeing a car parked on.... The car folds up and goes to park on a lower level, leaving the roof open for the next guy. At the end of the day, even if the whole garage was taking off, it would still be faster than waiting for the light at the corner that jams all of us now. As you approach the exit (the roof in this case) the car would unfold, and when you are 'next in line' would spin up. After the other guy flies away, it waits a few seconds for safe distance, then also takes off, turning in a slightly different direction than he went to give additional separation, and moving to traffic heading the same general direction. Near home it again splits off the traffic pattern, and descends to the culdesac, folds up, and rolls into the garage. Because my trip was quicker, and on a slightly different path than my imaginary neighbor who live next door and works in the next building, it reduces the amount of time each of us was using airspace. Multiply those saved minutes across the whole city, and it is actually a huge improvement in congestion, without even considering that in the air there is a traffic lane every 500 vertical feet. Considering most helicopters like to fly between 300 and 3000 ft, that right there is 5 different traffic systems... so just dividing the existing traffic to 5 levels you can already see how much space there is just over the top of existing roads.

The one part of that I can see causing a huge heartache for the gov is that because I never went on a public street (the home owners association pays totally for our culdesac) I can file for no tax on the fuel I used. I'd expect to see a new tax structure on aviation fuels if this becomes a thing.

This is neat - I needed something neat this morning! If this is completely computer controlled, then the FAA would just have to establish general corridors that were reserved for these craft, and they could fly helter-skelter in those areas, using computerize avoidance technology (like the Google ground cars do).

It seems a bit unreasonable insofar as power management is concerned, but the other Gulchers do not have a problem with that...

Sigh. A flying car. Now all I need is effective FTL.

Jan

Would be cool if an antigravity device was developed, but this would probably be some sort of perpetual motion machine and therefore physically impossible. But maybe not...... On the other hand what would keep it down when you wanted it down- or would it just fly away into space and be forever lost.

Term2: True. We know the government will step in and most likely kill the chance that this concept can "take off" (pun intended).

Johnpe1: Interesting comments and now I'm thinking: "Uber Air" -We pick you up (car) and we fly you the distance (plane) and drop you at the door of your destination (car)! Now this could make somebody some $$$. You just need a small fleet in the right area.

fabulous product.
would be very useful in Hi. or rural areas.

the submarine/car thing is likely, although of a lot less utility where bodies of water were not close. With the advent of microprocessors, cheap storage, sensors of all types- its certainly possible. Communication between submarines to avoid collisions might be difficult though.

The amazing power of CGI.

This will probably never happen, in my lifetime at least. Imagine the threat of aerial crashes that would be inevitable as the skies were filled with these things. Government would step in and never permit these. Already they are trying to stop drones (except for military purposes of course) by passing laws about maximum height and speed.

I want one too... better, I don't think it will be as expensive as one would think, only because the technology is already pretty much there. Maybe along the same lines as a Tesla... Expensive for a car, but cheap for an airplane. The Cessna 172 of the future... Better than a 172 because you don't need a runway to take off or land. If Unca Sam doesn't come in and regulate it to death it is an attainable, reachable product.

While it flew over water I wondered if it would also become a boat.
Last night while channel surfing during Fox News commercials, I saw a car become a submarine in that Despicable Me 2 cartoon movie.
Wonder if we will ever have a car that can fly, float and even submerge. .

that is way too cool...i want one...

This is the sort of aircraft Dwight Sanders would invent in an "updated" big- or small-screen version of AS. This is the aircraft of choice for Ragnar Danneskjöld's ship, and for the Galt's Gulch Sea-Air-Land Militia. All it needs are pontoons to make her water-worthy, and you have an excellent rescue or special-ops vehicle.

The TFX in your video is a real beauty, much more so than their current "Transition" model that is a little corny looking.
At the proposed price of a luxury car the TFX is a real deal. But with 8-12 years still to go in making it to the market who knows what restrictions the government might apply by then. They are already looking into drone restrictions.

Very interesting- thanks!