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Everybody's doing flying cars, so why aren't we soaring over traffic already?

"Where's my flying car?" has been the meme for impending technology that never materializes since before there were memes. And the trough of disillusionment for vehicles that can take to sky continues to nosedive, despite a nonstop fascination with flying cars and a recent rash of announcements about the technology, particularly from traditional automakers. Earlier this month, Toyota applied for an eye-popping patent for a flying car that has wheels with spring-loaded pop-out helicopter rotors. The patent filing says the wheels/rotors would be electrically powered, while in on-land mode the vehicle would have differential steering like tracked vehicles such as tanks and bulldozers. At an airshow in July, Aston Martin unveiled its Volante Vision Concept, an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle it developed with Rolls-Royce. Aston says the Volante can fly at top speeds of around 200 mph and bills it as a luxury car for the skies. Audi used the Geneva Motor Show in March to unveil a flying car concept called the Pop.Up Next it developed with Airbus and Italdesign. If the Pop.Up Next, an electric and autonomous quadcopter/city car combo, gets stuck in traffic, an app can be used to summon an Airbus-developed drone to pick up the passenger compartment pod, leaving the chassis behind. Audi said that the Pop.Up Next is a "flexible on-demand concept that could open up mobility in the third dimension to people in cities." But Audi also acknowledged that at this point it has no plans to develop it. The cash-stoked, skies-the-limit Silicon Valley tech crowd is also bullish on flying cars. The startup Kitty Hawk that's backed by Google co-founder Larry Page announced in June that it's taking pre-orders for its single-seat electric Flyer that's powered by 10 propellers and is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. The current version can only fly up to 20 mph and 10 feet in the air and has a flight time of just 12 to 20 minutes on a full charge. The Flyer is considered a recreational vehicle, so doesn't require a pilot's license. Uber says it plans to launch its more ambitious Elevate program and UberAIR service in 2023. "Uber customers will be able to push a button and get a flight on-demand with uberAIR in Dallas, Los Angeles and a third international market," Uber Elevate promises on its website.

Volkswagen showcasing latest emergency vehicles at RETTmobil

RETTmobil may not be the top show on our calendars, but it's the top destination for police and emergency vehicles in Europe. The show opens this week in Fulda, Germany, and Volkswagen has revealed some of the vehicles it'll be presenting to first responders there this year. Leading the charge will be the new Golf Alltrack that has been set up specially as a command car, with special lighting, graphics and equipment like an accident data recorder and unique control panel. It'll be joined as well by specially equipped versions of the Passat, Tiguan and Touareg. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will also be on hand to showcase an Amarok pickup set up as a beach patrol car (you know, just in case Hasselhoff happens to be in town for the show), as well as a Transporter T6 van set up as an armored personnel carrier and a Crafter ambulance. Volkswagen prasentiert sich auf der RETTmobil 2015 - Golf Alltrack erstmals als Kommandowagen vorgestellt - Transporter T6 feiert Premiere als Mannschaftstransportwagen Hannover / Fulda, 4. Mai 2015 – Mit einer vielfaltigen Produktpalette prasentiert sich Volkswagen ab dem 6. Mai auf der RETTmobil 2015. Messehighlights sind der neue Volkswagen Transporter, der seine Premiere als Mannschaftstransportwagen feiert und der neue Golf Alltrack, der dort erstmals als Kommandowagen zu sehen ist. Bis zum 8. Mai konnen sich Besucher auf der internationalen Leitmesse fur Rettung und Mobilitat in Fulda uber Sonderfahrzeuge fur Rettungseinsatz und Krankentransport informieren. Am Volkswagen Messestand (Halle 3, Stand 303) prasentieren ein speziell ausgestatteter Golf Alltrack und ein Passat Variant 4Motion, das vielfaltige Leistungsspektrum der Marke Volkswagen Pkw fur den Rettungseinsatz. Beide Modelle sind als Kommandowagen aufgebaut und verfugen uber eine umfangreiche Sonderausstattung fur den Einsatz-betrieb wie etwa Digitalfunkvorbereitung, ein Sondertastenbedienfeld und eine Sondersignalanlage mit Blaulichtleuchte. Die Fahrzeuge sind ausserdem mit dem Unfalldatenspeicher UDS ausgestattet, der den Ablauf eines Ereignisses gerichtsverwertbar dokumentiert. Ein besonderes Messehighlight ist der neue Transporter T6 als Mannschaftstransportwagen. Das beliebte Einsatzfahrzeug von Feuerwehr und Rettung wird farblich passend in Rot-Weiss vorgestellt und bietet mit bis zu funf Einzelsitzen viel Platz fur das Einsatzpersonal und die notwendige Ausrustung.

Which electric cars can charge at a Tesla Supercharger?

The difference between Tesla charging and non-Tesla charging. Electrify America; Tesla Tesla's advantage has long been its charging technology and Supercharger network. Now, more and more automakers are switching to Tesla's charging tech. But there are a few things non-Tesla drivers need to know about charging at a Tesla station. A lot has hit the news cycle in recent months with regard to electric car drivers and where they can and can't plug in. The key factor in all of that? Whether automakers switched to Tesla's charging standard. More car companies are shifting to Tesla's charging tech in the hopes of boosting their customers' confidence in going electric.  Here's what it boils down to: If you currently drive a Tesla, you can keep charging at Tesla charging locations, which use the company's North American Charging Standard (NACS), which has long served it well. The chargers are thinner, more lightweight and easier to wrangle than other brands.  If you currently drive a non-Tesla EV, you have to charge at a non-Tesla charging station like that of Electrify America or EVgo — which use the Combined Charging System (CCS) — unless you stumble upon a Tesla charger already equipped with the Magic Dock adapter. For years, CCS tech dominated EVs from everyone but Tesla.  Starting next year, if you drive a non-Tesla EV (from the automakers that have announced they'll make the switch), you'll be able to charge at all Supercharger locations with an adapter. And by 2025, EVs from some automakers won't even need an adaptor.  Here's how to charge up, depending on which EV you have:  Ford 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. Tim Levin/Insider Ford was the earliest traditional automaker to team up with Tesla for its charging tech. Current Ford EV owners — those driving a Ford electric vehicle already fitted with a CCS port — will be able to use a Tesla-developed adapter to access Tesla Superchargers starting in the spring. That means that, if you own a Mustang Mach-E or Ford F-150 Lightning, you will need the adapter in order to use a Tesla station come 2024. But Ford will equip its future EVs with the NACS port starting in 2025 — eliminating the need for any adapter. Owners of new Ford EVs will be able to pull into a Supercharger station and juice up, no problem. General Motors Cadillac Lyriq. Cadillac GM will also allow its EV drivers to plug into Tesla stations.