Neiman Marcus Offers First Moller Skycar For Sale 311
It doesn't come easy writes "Neiman Marcus has just unveiled its 2005 Christmas Catalog of Fantasy Gifts last Tuesday, and one of the items up for purchase is the prototype M400 Skycar from Moller International (for only $3.5 million US). If you've ever dreamed of owning a Skycar, this may be your only chance." From the Skycar site: "Can any automobile give you this scenario? From your garage to your destination, the M400 Skycar can cruise comfortably at 350+ MPH and achieve up to 28 miles per gallon. No traffic, no red lights, no speeding tickets. Just quiet direct transportation from point A to point B in a fraction of the time. Three dimensional mobility in place of two dimensional immobility. No matter how you look at it the automobile is only an interim step on our evolutionary path to independence from gravity. That's all it will ever be. "
Finished product? (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Is this legal? (Score:5, Informative)
"M400 Skycar Deposit Information
"Deposit is refundable until after a successful transitioning flight has occurred. Thereafter deposits are refundable only if Final Delivery Price exceeds List Price (as adjusted for CPI-W) by 5%, OR Standard Equipment List has been shortened OR Guaranteed Performance Specifications are not met, OR FAA Certification Date of the M400 Skycar occurs after December 31, 2008 or a Purchase Agreement is executed prior to FAA certification. "
"Your required deposit amount is as follows:
"Delivery Position List Price
25-100 $995,000
101-200 $750,000
201-500 $500,000"
So, they're anticipating obtaining FAA approval by 2008. The price for a car depends on how long you're willing to wait. Starts off at one million, and drops to half a million if you're willing to wait till 200 have already been sold.
Hugh
Re:Is this legal? (Score:4, Informative)
Typically vague Muller (Score:5, Informative)
We have offered the prototype "for sale" in the catalog for $3.5 million on the condition that it be delivered after its inaugural piloted test flight scheduled for later this year or early 2006. Well, except that he notes elsewhere they really are "working towards" that day, and have NFI when it will actually happen.
Yep, it's "for sale"! Oh, but not the one in the photo! That's the shiny production version see.
You get the far uglier testing one shown here...
http://www.moller.com/skycar/ [moller.com]
Yes, typical Muller all the way! What a visionary!
Re:Requisite "It's fake!" (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah, many people have thought that the skycar has been an investment scam, and it probably is. Hey the SEC thinks so! [sec.gov]
Although I see that Bernoulli's principle strikes again! Alas, that is not really what generates lift (my modern Physics professor in college used to teach at the Air Force Academy and said they still teach that to pilots... ghastly). While there is a Bernoulli effect that influences lift, there is an assumption and crude explanation (hey the air flows above and below the wing have to meet up).
here [wikipedia.org]Of course Bernoulli was a natural philosopher which explains why this was easily accepted (thanks Neal Stephenson, for fictionalizing that part of history).
Scientific arguments aside, the Moller sky car [wikipedia.org] graced the pages of Popular Mechanics and Popular Science when I was a kid. No one in their right mind would buy it, it is a silly impractical (not to mention unsafe) idea. Do you know how much work it takes to get a pilot's license? Or instrument rated? Time and $$$$. That is why it is a dumb idea. But hey, rich old men can dream, can't they?
Re:Nice. // FAA cert (Score:5, Informative)
http://web.archive.org/web/20001110012400/http://
In other words, take any deadline that Paul Moller gives you with a big ol' honkin' chunk of NaCl.
Does anyone read (Score:5, Informative)
4.22. How can I obtain a video of the M400 Skycar?
Since the M400 has not yet been flown, we do not have available video footage. You can however, obtain a Media Kit which includes a compilation video of interviews with Dr. Moller, a BETA master of our most recent flight test featuring the M200X (1990) and informational brochures on Skycar and Rotapower Engines for $50 plus shipping. Please see our Sales page to order.
4.21. Will I need a license to pilot an M400 Skycar?
Currently the Skycar is categorized as a "powered-lift normal" aircraft by the FAA. This means that, yes, you will require a "powered-lift normal" category pilot's license to operate a Skycar. However, it is our intention that the volantor will eventually evolve into a completely automated form of transportation making you a passenger - not a pilot/driver. At that point, no pilot's license would be required as long as you operate within this control network.
Moller: Almond butter is the key to life extension (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Nice. (Score:5, Informative)
> I was certified to fly gliders only after many hours of instruction that included emergency situations as well as learning how to give myself large safety margins. Just the thinking process of getting my pilot's license caused me to really evaluate my driving habits as well.
How long does it take to get a drivers license in US, and how expensive it is?
Here in Finland, if you're 18 or older, you can get a license. The process is split in two phases, first phase consists of 10 x 1,5 hours of theory and 10 x 1h driving lessons.
Then there's written exam including traffic situation pictures, and finally driving test. If you pass both tests, you get temporary license which is valid for 1-2 years.
(don't recall if the hours are accurate, I've had my drivers license for several years now)
If you manage to drive 1-2 years without too many mistakes (3-strike system, if you fail, you have to do first phase again) you can start second phase.
In second phase, you have few more theory hours, 5 or so, mostly about driving in dark and on slippery surfaces. Some of the theory also focuses on driving more economically. There's practice run on slippery surface track and basically training for driving on icy surfaces. After completing the second phase, you receive your final drivers license which is valid until you turn 70. After that age, you need to take medical and with doctors approval, the license can be extended.
The whole thing costs about $1200-2000, depending on the driving school, more if you fail any of the tests.
Re:That will probably mean.. (Score:4, Informative)
Reference: [about.com] All told, 42,636 people died on the nation's highways in 2004, down from 42,884 in 2003. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) was 1.46 in 2004, down from 1.48 in 2003. The fatality rate has been steadily improving since 1966 when 50,894 people died and the rate was 5.5.
Overall deaths can actually go up while having the VMR and per 100,000 rates go down because the USA, more so than Europe, is still increasing in population.
Skycar/Moller a 40 year con (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Nice. (Score:3, Informative)
The requirements vary by locality, and are getting more restrictive as time goes by. However, when I got my driver's licence, I only had to pass the written test and the "drive arount the block with a DMV guy" practical test. Total cost was negligable. Total experience required was laughable.
Note that making license acquisition even moderately expensive or difficult is a very politally-charged proposition. Leftists tend to argue that a driver's license is required in order to conduct normal day-to-day business, and therefore is a right, not a priviledge. Making license acquisition out-of-reach for the "bottom" of society--those with less resources and less opportunity for proper training--impinges on the rights of these individuals and is an unacceptable form of discrimination.
When I got my pilot's licence, on the other hand, it was after 41.5 hours of flight time (I learn very fast, the national average is 60 to 80 hours before they can perform maneuvers within FAA standards), at a cost of around $4000. Once again, the average cost is closer to $6000-$8000 dollars. The requirements also include a written exam (a REAL test, not the hokey crap you do with the DMV), an oral test, and a practical test. Only the first hour or two of training is spent explaining "how to fly." The rest is spent learning how to safely handle every situation you can possibly get yourself into (of which there are plenty, by the way).
Along with your license, you need a current medical release signed by an FAA approved doctor, which needs to be updated as often as every 6 months or as seldom as every 3 years (depending on age and what type of flying you do). And of course, there's recurring training that must be accomplished every 2 years. Beyond that, there's requirements about flying you must have done within the past X months in order to carry passengers in various situations.
None of this includes instrument or commercial ratings, either, and is only valid for the specific category of aircraft that you trained in.
So, in order to fly, you have to really know what you're doing. The requirements are strict because the stakes are high. If drivers were required to reach pilot standards before getting their license, only 10-20% at best would ever make it, and accidents would be so rare that fender-benders would make the news. Roads would be extremely safe, the automobile industry would crumble, and mass transit would be the norm, rather than the exception.
Re:That will probably mean.. (Score:2, Informative)