Toyota looking to dominate the flying car market
- Tim Sullivan
- Jul 4, 2016
- 2 min read
The well known Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, might be trying to get into the flying car market before the rest of the pack.
Back in 2011 they filed for their first flying car patent, this just went public on June 23rd of this year, according to Quartz. This car will be change form based on if you are on land or in the air, Toyota wants it to do both. The wings will fold out from the body or technically the fuselage, and their will be a propeller attached to the back of the car. As shown in the photo below, the propeller kind of looks out of place with the technology we have on commercial planes at this time, but you have to start somewhere.
Quartz reported, "Storing wings in such a manner can subject the wings to damage, reduce fuel economy, and limit operator aft and side views in the land mode." So it looks like this car will have some disadvantages the way the wings work. Even though they are meant to be unseen when not being used they could still cause blinds spot issues. Folding and unfolding the wings over and over again could also cause damage depending on the strength of the material.
What do you do if you get into an accident? will the wings still work? How much will those replacement parts cost and how will these be insured? There are many unanswered questions that only time will tell. Toyota is currently waiting on its second flying car patent, and some other companies seem to be getting into the mix. Will this be the future of cars? Will cars go down the electric path, or flying path? Or both? Again, we will have to wait and see, comment below what you think the #Futureofcars will be.
Source: | Quartz |
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Image Credit: | toyota-global | | hybridcars |
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