InventorSpot

these could become a serious security risk in the hands of terrorists.  The terrorists  wouldn't have to hijack an airplane--they'd have their own functional equivalent.

Nah, they could just steal a cessna if they wanted something that small.

I refer, of course, to the Moller SkyCar that has graced the front of Popular Mechanics or Popular Science once every 4 years or so:

http://www.moller.com/news.htm

This one is actually out of development into early production. The prices are steep, but you can expect them to go down after a few years.

As for the one previous comment about terrorists: none of these would be any "better" for terrorism than the ubiqutious newschoppers that fly around our major cities.

 Ok, just because I was curious from a couple comments about the Moller Flying Car (one from another post), here’s a short addendum on the Moller 400, one of the company’s most well-known models: 

The M400 is expected to fly at speeds of up to 375 mph, and carry up to four passengers—future models may even carry six passengers. It has four propellers that are covered by ducted fans for safety, and automatic flying controls, so that a driver (not a pilot) only needs to input the direction and speed. It uses eight compact, lightweight Wankel rotary engines—a type of internal combustion engine—that are supposedly inexpensive and efficient enough that Moller claims the M400 could one day have a similar price and fuel efficiency of a quality car. It runs on a combination of water and ethanol. The company has spent 40 years researching flying cars, and hopes to have FAA certification by the end of 2008.

pic: http://www.moller.com/m400.htm

... fortunately all we see are ridiculous one-offs and dubious non-funtional prototypes.  (Have you seen the latest?  Moller trots out a saucer-looking craft and says thats another new prototype for a flying car - do the words "Avro Aerocar" mean anything to them?)

Think about why roads exist: do they make it easier or possible for surface transport to work? Yes. But properly designed they also are means of protecting property , a nuisance control, and can even protect the environment.  They can perform as  safety feature and a social boundary.

Now, maybe I'm a stay-in-the-lines kind guy, but with the density of pouplation where I live, and the tendency for road rage and automotive idiocy, I want restrictions on tranportation - the type of licensing enforcement we have now days with surface traffic is not going to cut it. To even bring control to even near the level of control we have with mass individual surface traffic is going to cost  society many more times the individual cost of the car. How fair is that? Rich people can afford the flying car but unless there is a direct tax on the purchase of that car they'll be sharing the social cost with the rest of the non-privileged people.

I'm not even going to go into the energy costs and pollution problems... the mind boggles how this old selfish fantasy has maintained its legs over the years. 

OMG......Those expirements are so amazing. Its like i would want to see that and dive it. Also i maybe i would want to be an "inventor"!!!!!!!!!keep going, I mean that try to make it for real and fly it and then make a fortune out of it...

one more thing try to make cars fly.............................BY:2020 or 2015
please try to make cars "F.L.Y." PLEASE!!!!!!
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....uh, why is that different from a normal aircraft? A cessna will be cheaper than a m400 for the long term forseeable future - so this doesn't add any new risks at all. Boy I bet you see terrorism potential in everything. How sad they managed to terrorise you.

Your have of course retrograde ideas about the things surely inherited from the evident fact that your are more interested in to keep the social panorama unchangeable, I wonder it is because you have been in a confortable social status for a long time either in your infancy or in the present, (yes i have read that you are not a rich man, but with "confortable" i meant socially, not economically).
Well, the truth is that when traditional cars started to be popular, the taxes were proportional to the number of cars on road, first cars were expensive, so only available for wealthy people, but surely no especial tax were issued until the massive usage of cars were a reality. Exactly the same with flying cars.
And of course, if you need roads to separate people, you'll do better changing your unbelievable mind to come out with some other alternatives to solve the problem: biclycle ways, how does it sound?

I think, I've come up with a way to move in air, space and water. I don't say fly because flying to me means that you have to use the air to move around. This dose not use air. I think it will move in space and water. I've done some research (paper work and some real tests) on it but don't have the resources to make a working model. everything is done but the model.
if you think you can help me. contact me at workingflyingcar@yahoo.com

You can fly faster than you can drive.
But GPM the same!!!
So its all about technology and good workers.
Today People build amazing amphibians cars !!!!
10 years ago sceptics call amphicars "stupid idea".