NPR

Flying Cars Are (Still) Coming: Should We Believe The Hype?

Airbus and Uber are planning for a future of flying cars and sky taxis. "You literally push a button and you get a flight," an Uber executive says. But will our Tomorrowland ever really arrive?
The EHang drone from China will provide VIP sky shuttle service in Dubai.

In the 1950s, when America was hopeful and reckless conjecture was encouraged, prognosticators had some wild ideas about 21st century technology. A few came true, like robot companions. Most didn't, like lunar shuttles.

But one concept in particular has endured without quite being realized — the flying car. Check those special "future" editions of old magazines and you'll find plenty of stalwart citizens commuting to work in hovering sedans, with tail fins. So where did the dream go wrong?

Well, you may have noticed that flying cars have been this week, with new making the rounds and Uber's in Texas. The timing seems right for a reappraisal of our retro-future dreams. The good news is that flying cars are no longer science fiction — in fact, several

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