GM Debuts Futuristic Concept for Electric Flying Car

[NIGHTLORD40K]

The reality is that this is a fantasy. Duh.

Even if they could build the things for a cost someone average could afford (they can't ), and if the average driver learned the skills to operate the thing safely (they won't ), the amount of maintenance required to remain sky worthy would leave them grounded a good amount of time.

I've been in the automotive industry for 18 years, trust me when I say, very few people are willing to maintain a modern car. There's not a chance in hell the population could be responsible for a machine that will plummet to earth if it takes a dump. Plus the cost, most folks act like you tried to murder them if THEIR car needs a couple thousand $ in work. I'm sure flying car repair would be many times more expensive for any little thing.

Then the environmentalists start moaning about how many hawks and sparrows get hit every year. Between the flying cars and their windmills all birds would go extinct . Plus there's no floating McDonald's so you'd have to use the old wheelie car to go through a drive thru. Think about the chaos a drunk flying car driver could do, staggering.

I'll bet in 200 years people still won't have flying cars. Maybe I'm a pessimist but the population is brutally dumb.

They will be autonomous- the only user selectable controls will be destination, climate control, and infotainment.

Regular maintainance will be mandatory. If the necessary inspections arent done every so many flight hours, the vehicle will refuse to take off. Its conceiveable that the vehicle could even schedule and fly to its maintainance checkups automatically while the owner is at work/sleeping.

Another option would be to send a drone to physically inspect the vehicle- the footage could be reviewed by a meat bag, err, I mean human, tech and heshe could send a reactivation signal remotely. This is all assuming the onboard diagnostics arent detecting anything abnormal already.

We are already having discussions at our dealership about what to do when autonomous vehicles show up for repairs and no one is on board.

Full disclosure: I work for Cadillac. I also dont drive or own one. Draw whatever conclusions you want.

 

[Howland937]

Full disclosure: I work for Cadillac. I also dont drive or own one. Draw whatever conclusions you want

Cadillac tech? Whew....

I remember years ago working in a CDJ dealer, like 2001 or 2, and old woman with a 300M came in with 2 complaints. #1, Side mirrors no longer turned downward in reverse. Not a single technician had heard of such a function, and only after some joint research concluded that yes the technology did exist and yes, it was a software issue.

Complaint #2, Headlights inop. She had recently taken in to a car wash and when it got dark later, headlights wouldn't work. She'd driven the car for 8 months with headlamp switch on "auto". The lot attendant at the car wash turned the headlights "off" while it was inside getting washed.

Technology can be a wonderful thing. Informing the owners and the people tasked with repairing the technology of it's existence is probably a good idea.

 

[Magnum]

They will be autonomous- the only user selectable controls will be destination, climate control, and infotainment.

Regular maintainance will be mandatory. If the necessary inspections arent done every so many flight hours, the vehicle will refuse to take off. Its conceiveable that the vehicle could even schedule and fly to its maintainance checkups automatically while the owner is at work/sleeping.

Another option would be to send a drone to physically inspect the vehicle- the footage could be reviewed by a meat bag, err, I mean human, tech and heshe could send a reactivation signal remotely. This is all assuming the onboard diagnostics arent detecting anything abnormal already.

We are already having discussions at our dealership about what to do when autonomous vehicles show up for repairs and no one is on board.

Full disclosure: I work for Cadillac. I also dont drive or own one. Draw whatever conclusions you want.

Agree, the self diagnostics would be at work full time. As a Cadillac man , you know how these things are . vehicle comes in for a minor or maintenance issue , do a scan on all fitted modules before beginning work and 50 codes are present, record and clear everything and drive a little while. Likely few or no faults reset but give it a few weeks, maybe they all return or maybe half or maybe none. Can't fix what doesn't reset but you know there's a cheesy ground some place or some module that pulls the bus down after one and a half hours of constant operation. It's where we are technologically right now, that'll keep the thing grounded more than in the sky.

Full disclosure , I'm primarily a diagnostician that fixes issues that most shops pit everything they have at and end up having done nothing but waste time and money. I see things that defy explanation (I hate that and it keeps me up at night sometimes) , things that can't be repeated but every few months but must be fixed. The onboard software gets goofy and if you can make a well educated guess (as a meat bag) as to the cause , you won't know it's fixed until the car doesn't show up on a tow truck for the exact same thing . the glorious meat bag (200# gorilla) can reason far beyond what a computer can manage. Computers can do a lot but taking a scope view of various sensors ect and interpreting wave forms just isn't one of them right now. I'm sure we both make judgments based on things like that , when technically the part in question is operating within range. It's a tough job, currently in my surrounding 40 mile radius there are probably only 10 or so guys that do what I do specifically .

The other side (good paying side) of my work disaster is regular cars that don't have nightmares hiding in the octopus under the hood. Those cars are a breeze but I always get all faults codes before I do anything , most are riddled with codes that amount to nothing, not reproducible and not verifiable. The system works. But that will keep a flyer on the ground I'd imagine .

I know you said Cadillac , but have you done much work on Nissan's? They're the most ghost code encrusted shit boxes in history. 50 codes set, cleared and 20 completely different codes appear after a drive. Clear them and different ones again will appear but everything works fine.

I do a few customs and race cars too, the systems are so simplified that if a fault is present , you'll know it. It's repeatable and confirmable but they don't accommodate the creature functions consumers demand, engine functions only and many of the connections are gold plated and very robust. Nothing they could do for a production vehicle.

My long winded point is, everything will keep these things grounded . Maybe eventually ai can take over and do what we do. In the foreseeable future , I dunno.


-doesn't fixing cars suck???!!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Agree, the self diagnostics would be at work full time. As a Cadillac man , you know how these things are . vehicle comes in for a minor or maintenance issue , do a scan on all fitted modules before beginning work and 50 codes are present, record and clear everything and drive a little while. Likely few or no faults reset but give it a few weeks, maybe they all return or maybe half or maybe none. Can't fix what doesn't reset but you know there's a cheesy ground some place or some module that pulls the bus down after one and a half hours of constant operation. It's where we are technologically right now, that'll keep the thing grounded more than in the sky.

Full disclosure , I'm primarily a diagnostician that fixes issues that most shops pit everything they have at and end up having done nothing but waste time and money. I see things that defy explanation (I hate that and it keeps me up at night sometimes) , things that can't be repeated but every few months but must be fixed. The onboard software gets goofy and if you can make a well educated guess (as a meat bag) as to the cause , you won't know it's fixed until the car doesn't show up on a tow truck for the exact same thing . the glorious meat bag (200# gorilla) can reason far beyond what a computer can manage. Computers can do a lot but taking a scope view of various sensors ect and interpreting wave forms just isn't one of them right now. I'm sure we both make judgments based on things like that , when technically the part in question is operating within range. It's a tough job, currently in my surrounding 40 mile radius there are probably only 10 or so guys that do what I do specifically .

The other side (good paying side) of my work disaster is regular cars that don't have nightmares hiding in the octopus under the hood. Those cars are a breeze but I always get all faults codes before I do anything , most are riddled with codes that amount to nothing, not reproducible and not verifiable. The system works. But that will keep a flyer on the ground I'd imagine .

I know you said Cadillac , but have you done much work on Nissan's? They're the most ghost code encrusted shit boxes in history. 50 codes set, cleared and 20 completely different codes appear after a drive. Clear them and different ones again will appear but everything works fine.

I do a few customs and race cars too, the systems are so simplified that if a fault is present , you'll know it. It's repeatable and confirmable but they don't accommodate the creature functions consumers demand, engine functions only and many of the connections are gold plated and very robust. Nothing they could do for a production vehicle.

My long winded point is, everything will keep these things grounded . Maybe eventually ai can take over and do what we do. In the foreseeable future , I dunno.


-doesn't fixing cars suck???!!

Oh, I dunno, in theory a BEV mobility unit (car, plane, whatevs) has alot fewer moving parts, less exposure to corrosive chemicals (lubricants,fuel), and less waste heat to get rid of. All this adds up to the POTENTIAL for increased reliability and much less maintainance- assuming the sensors, wiring, modules, and software are halfway decent. Lol.

The most persitant problems with todays computer-controlled cars are not usually powertrain failures, but emissions-related faults and non-critical body systems. The emissions problems will go away once everything is electric (well aside from disposing of waste batteries and refrigerant), but the flying cars of the future will still likely have crappy sunroofs.......

Nope, never messed with late-model Nissans. Cut my teeth on Buicks, then Honda/Acura, and KIA. Finally got smart and quit the shop 3 years ago. Now I just hand out parts, sit back, and listen to the techs curse.