Bad Ideas Never Die. The automobile was invented by Karl Benz in
1885 and the airplane by the Wright brothers in 1903. Just three
years later the first flying car story appeared. And in the 98
years since then, flying cars have received copious coverage in
the nation's media. In 1945, Ted Hall introduced his flying car,
a development that was received by a wildly enthusiastic public.
Roads would become obsolete, traffic jams a thing of the past.
Every major aircraft manufacturer hoped to cash in on Hall's
invention. The lucky buyer was Convair. In July of 1946, Convair
introduced Hall's flight of fancy as the Convair Model 118
ConvAirCar. Company management confidently predicted minimum
sales of 160,000 units a year. In spite of the hype, only two
ConvAirCars were ever built. In 1949, Moulton Taylor introduced
the Aerocar, a sporty runabout with detachable wings and tail.
The Aerocar received a tremendous amount of publicity at the
time. The Ford Motor Company considered mass-producing it,
figuring they could