Flying cars no longer science fiction

While American auto manufacturers are busy designing/producing hybrid cars, a group of innovative aeronautical engineers are coming up with their own version of a flying car or ‘flybrid,’ as it is called.

A prototype called Terrafugia Transition is a uniquely designed dual purpose vehicle with a rear propeller engine, front-wheel drive, airbags and wings that folds and unfolds.

The Transition is said to fly as far as 460 miles at a maximum speed of around 115 mph and needs only 2500-foot runway for takeoff and landing.

On the ground and on any surface road, the wings can be folded by pressing a button inside the cockpit.

First customer delivery of the Transition is expected to occur in 2011.

For those who can afford, this could be a high-end toy at an stipulated price of $194,000.

Terrafugia is derived from the Latin word, meaning “Escape the Earth”.

TOYOTA UNVEILS NEW HYBRID SEDAN

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker is pushing hard on the sale of its gasoline-electric hybrids saying it aims to sell 36,000 units a year of its new Sai hybrid sedan in Japan.

The Sai sedan is a repackaged version of the Lexus HS250h and is just the second hybrid model under the Toyota brand after its flagship Prius.

Toyota said it expects to sell 500,000 to 600,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide this year with the goal of selling 1 million hybrids globally soon after 2010.

The Sai sedan has a listed mileage of 23 km/liter (54 mpg), or twice that of a comparable gasoline car, according to chief engineer Shigeru Nakagawa in a news conference.

The new Sai hybrid sedan will be built by unit Toyota Motor Kyushu in southern Japan and will be sold only in Japan.

The name Sai is said to have been derived from a Japanese character meaning talent and coloration.