Meet George Jetson: Flying Car Debuts at Detroit Auto Show

It may not look exactly like the flying saucer George Jetson used to drive to work, but a prototype of the first flying car made its debut at the Detroit auto show.

Please Note:  Sadly, the flying car does not turn into a briefcase. That's still going to be a while.

Meet George Jetson

Hold on just a moment. If you don't know who George Jetson is, you need to go do some homework - and I mean right now. (Select seasons are available for streaming on HBO Max, Amazon, and other services.) Technically, 'The Jetsons' was before my time, airing origianlly in primetime from 1962 to 1963 and then becoming even more popular as reruns aired in syndication. The show was set 100 years in the future, so it was a prediction of life in 2062.

And it had a very catchy theme song!

The flying car wasn't the only thing predicted by The Jetsons. Anyone else have a robot vacuum named Rosie? Sure enough, The Jetsons' robot maid has plenty of little namesakes out there, with irobot reporting that Rosie is by far the most popular nickname given to its robot vacuums.

Now Back to the Auto Show

Sean Borman runs Aero Auto and spoke with WDIV-TV at the North American International Auto Show about the company's XTURISMO.

“Either at a personal use machine or a vehicle like this that has so much functional applications like police, fire, medical rescue, public works, and public service,” Borman said.

He demonstrated the hoverbike at Detroit City Airport, allowing Detroit Fire Captain James Davis to take it for a spin, er, a ride.

Davis noted that it was similar to riding a motorcycle, only up in the air.

Borman guessed that some version of his company's flying car could be available as early as 2024 or 2025.

Given the fact that George Jetson's date of birth is estimated to be July 31, 2022, we're hoping that by the time he's old enough to drive, flying cars will indeed be part of our world.