It's a flying car update, though it seems the flying car industry prefers the term "Personal Air Vehicle" (PAV), to evidently sound less comic book-ish.

There appears to be work left to do and the cost in some cases is prohibitive, but prototypes will be in production as early as next year, with consumer versions possible by 2010.

This will represent a significant development in personal transportation possibilities in an industry that hasn't really had any meaningful technological breakthroughs since the jet engine. How is it the automotive industry has gone from this stunning 1950 Mercedes:


to this hideous dreck:



in almost 60 years of engineering and design is beyond me. If I could get my MTV in 1981, I should be able to get my flying car by 2015 or so.