# Where did the "They promised us flying cars" thing come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355 "2008-08-18T01:49:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/21 "2008-08-18T10:38:55Z")
This seems like an ideal thread to make mention of the wonderous world of [Retro-Futurism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-futurism); also known as “What people in the 1920s-1960s thought the Future would look like”. [For the most part they got it horribly, embarrassingly wrong.](http://www.davidszondy.com/future/futurepast.htm) I imagine that the denizens of the 22nd century will look back on our current Sci-Fi or Pop-Sci and say “What were they _thinking_??? Laser Guns? Androids? Not bloody likely!” ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/22 "2008-08-18T10:40:07Z")
William Gibson summed it up perfectly in his wonderful short story “The Gernsback Continuum”: “I found myself remembering Sunday morning television in the Fifties. Sometimes they’d run eroded newsreels as filler on the local station. You’d sit there with a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk, and a static-ridden Hollywood baritone would tell you that there was A Flying Car In Your Future. And three Detroit engineers would putter around with this big old Nash with wings, and you’d see it rumbling furiously down some deserted Michigan runway. You never actually saw it take off, but it flew away to…never-never land, true home of a generation of completely uninhibited technophiles.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/23 "2008-08-18T11:48:21Z")
The Personal Flyer goes back before the 1950s, or even the 1930s. I recall seeing a set of “trading cards” from circa the Turn of the Century (the 19th to 20th) featuring colored illustrations of tiny private helicopters and the like. They looked utterly unworkable, of course, but that wasn’t the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/24 "2008-08-18T13:29:38Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] I think [Things To Come](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028358/) had them as well. [/QUOTE] That’s the film I was thinking of! I was going to cite it as a source of ‘people using airplanes as cars’, but I couldn’t think of the name. I don’t remember flying cars or airplanes in _Metropolis_. I’ll have to watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/25 "2008-08-18T13:44:18Z")
These aren’t the ones I was thinking of, but they’re the same era: [http://www.paleofuture.com/2007/04/postcards-showing-year-2000-circa-1900.html](http://www.paleofuture.com/2007/04/postcards-showing-year-2000-circa-1900.html) This quote references the ones I’d seen, and includes another reference to flying cars: > [@](#): > > Our failure to produce flying cars seems like a particular betrayal, since it was so central to our image. A century ago, a French novelty company produced a series of trading cards depicting life in the year 2000. People had hardly figured out how to make cars move on the ground at that point, but the cards showed citizens of the future – us – soaring into air cafes for a cup of coffee or setting down on floating stores that bobbed in the English Channel. Movies about the 21st century almost always featured flying cars. **There was a Hollywood musical from 1930 called ‘‘Just Imagine’’ that imagined them all over New York City by 1980** [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804EEDF113EF934A35751C1A96F958260](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804EEDF113EF934A35751C1A96F958260) Here are some of those French cards: [http://www.paleofuture.com/2007/09/french-prints-show-year-2000-1910.html](http://www.paleofuture.com/2007/09/french-prints-show-year-2000-1910.html) **Just Imagine** : [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021016/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021016/) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/26 "2008-08-18T15:42:56Z")
Of course they also appear in _Blade Runner_, made in 1982 but set in 2019. Detroit had better get crackin’. I just heard an insurance company radio ad in which a Joe Sixpack-type is complaining, “Hey, where’s my flying car? What a gyp!” No word yet on protests from the Romani Flying Motor Club. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/27 "2008-08-18T15:58:47Z")
As I’ve said before, I’m not particularly anxious for the Era of Flying Cars. It’s bad enough that incompetant drivers are perpetually bashing in my retaining wall next to the street. If we had flying cars, I’d have to worry about drunk drivers, beginning drivers, and incompetant drivers crashing into my house. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/28 "2008-08-18T16:10:13Z")
Ditto the bit about watching the Jetsons when it came out, and seeing flying cars in Popular Mechanics. It was certainly part of the conventional wisdom that we were going to be driving through the air soon. And, spact travel to other planets would be fairly common for people, at least people on special missions. And, computers would be enormous boxes that talked and didn’t appear to be connected to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/29 "2008-08-18T16:31:45Z")
The [House of Tomorrow at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago](http://www.nps.gov/archive/indu/History/House%20of%20Tomorrow.htm) had a garage so that the man of the house could park his personal plane. See photo. Alberto Santos-Dumont had a small airship, the Badaleuse, that he would fly from his test grounds in a Parisian suburb to lunch at Maxim’s restaurant. He would tie it up to a lamppost while he ate. Sometimes he would drive it over to his apartment a few blocks away. He made many public announcements that everybody would do this someday. This was in 1906. After James Bond used a jetpack in one of his early movies, you saw any number of comments that we would all be using them soon. Frank Piasecki was trying to sell the Navy his PV-2 helicopter. He did a promotional news reel titled “An Air Flivver in Every Garage.” [probably 1943] James R. Chiles, in The God Machine, wrote: > [@](#): > > It was shown as a short before the feature in movie theaters and viewers there could have reasonably surmised that soon any PV-2 owner would be able to roll his machine out of the garage, fold out the rotor blades, toss his golf bag onboard, top off the tank at the neighborhood service station, then flit off to the country club. But it was a fake. The maneuvering at the gas station was dangerous close to the copter’s limits. Lifting a golf bag and the pilot simultaneously was beyond them. Piasecki cheated by having the golf bag transported by car and using editing to make it appear that it had flown with him. This may be an incident that Gibson adapted for his story. Flying as a means to get from place to place directly is such an obvious, and temptingly logical, idea that it keeps cropping up with every type of get-off-the-ground invention that has ever appeared. But it’s not logical, it’s physically shaky, and it has huge societal implications. Me, I’m waiting for teleportation. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/30 "2008-08-18T19:01:41Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Whenever someone asks about flying cars, my response is always “Cessna makes one priced to own at only 80K. Getting a license for it is a bit of a bitch though.” [/quote] If you’re willing to settle for a used one in good/safe condition you can get into one for $30,000 easy. And, personally, while the license did require some work I had fun doing it and wouldn’t describe it as a “bitch”. The average human being is quite capable of earning that piece of paper, what is usually lacking is motivation or funds or both. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/31 "2008-08-18T20:35:09Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] I think [Things To Come](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028358/) had them as well. [/QUOTE] No flying cars in “Things to Come”. The flying vehicles there were planes and the occasional space ship. I think you’re confusing it with “Just Imagine” linked elsewhere in the thread (I always do). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/32 "2008-08-18T21:52:57Z")
Even as a kid in the 1980s our elementary school teachers assured us we would be zipping around in flying cars as adults. Seems absurd now as it’s been 20+ years and they are not even on the horizon. Most people don’t think about them or particularly seem to want them anymore. All the hype about “the year 2000” continued well into the 1990s and, looking back, it must’ve been more of a cultural relic than anything. People couldn’t have really thought the world would be that much different 8 or 9 years later. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/33 "2008-08-18T23:53:45Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] No flying cars in “Things to Come”. The flying vehicles there were planes and the occasional space ship. I think you’re confusing it with “Just Imagine” linked elsewhere in the thread (I always do). [/QUOTE] I knew that _Things To Come_ didn’t have flying cars. I was responding to **Friar Ted** ’s claim that _Metropolis_ had personal planes, though I don’t think it does and they were in fact only in _Things To Come_. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/34 "2008-08-19T00:22:56Z")
You’ll find plenty of examples [here,](http://davidszondy.com/future/futurepast.htm) particularly [here.](http://davidszondy.com/future/Flight/flyingcars.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/35 "2008-08-19T04:28:46Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] These aren’t the ones I was thinking of, but they’re the same era: [http://www.paleofuture.com/2007/04/postcards-showing-year-2000-circa-1900.html](http://www.paleofuture.com/2007/04/postcards-showing-year-2000-circa-1900.html) [/QUOTE] Having browsed around the above link I have to add–never mind the flying car, how about the LEISURE?? What about that 16 hour workweek? These days it seems one is more likely to have a 16 hour _more_ workweek, if you count missed lunches/breaks, 24x7 support, being on call, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/36 "2008-08-19T05:14:51Z")
And [Something Positive](http://www.somethingpositive.net/index.html) chimes in. You may have to click back if it’s not 8/18-19/08. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/37 "2008-08-19T08:30:42Z")
Step forward, [George Pocock.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pocock_(inventor)) > [@](#): > > In 1826, he patented the design of his “Charvolant” buggy. This used two kites on single line 1,500 to 1,800 feet (457–459 m) long to provide enough power to draw along a buggy carrying several passengers at considerable speed, similar to the modern sport of kite buggying. In his book, _Char volant_ translates directly as ‘flying car’. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/38 "2008-08-19T13:16:09Z")
You know, what we really need is not one of your car-planes or mini-helicopters or jet packs, but something like Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder, with antigravity (or some functional equivalent): It spends most of the time near enough to the ground that there are no air-traffic control problems, but it does not strictly need a road and, presumably, could climb over a traffic jam. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/39 "2008-08-19T23:27:28Z")
I wasn’t there, but… If you look back at the 30’s and 40’s, the 50’s and 60’s must have seemed like a golden age where anything was possible. I don’t think most of my grandparents had electricity growing up, but when my parents grew up they had televisions, cars, refrigerators, and other things that must have seemed miraculous to their parents. The space program was going in the 60’s, the moon landing was right around the corner, the technological advancements over the previous generation were immense. Not coincidentally, this was the golden age of sci-fi, which was full of stories of the year 2000, where the advances the kids would have over their generation seemed likely to be as huge as the one they had over their parents. The old sci-fi stories all seem to have robots, flying personal transport vehicles (cars), space travel and orbital colonies, people living on other planets, etc. Of course the current generation _has_ advanced greatly since then - who could have comprehended ipods, cell phones, or the internet (as it exists today) even back in the 80’s? But the wildly imaginative sci-fi stories of the 50’s that had us living in space, or underwater, or on other planets, with our own personal robotic servants, flying cars, and food in pill form, were just too far removed from reality to be plausible. Again, I wasn’t there, but I’ve never heard of any reputable scientists promising all of the above. I think it was all fiction perpetuated by sci-fi writers, and people sort of believed it would happen because, hey, anything’s possible [dramatic chord] **in the future** ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355/40 "2008-08-19T23:31:04Z")
[QUOTE=Apocalypso] I think it was all fiction perpetuated by sci-fi writers, and people sort of believed it would happen because, hey, anything’s possible [dramatic chord] **in the future** [/QUOTE] Where _Future Events Such As These, Will Affect You!_😃 Sorry, I couldn’t resist. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-they-promised-us-flying-cars-thing-come-from/460355.md?page=3)