Volvo's Parent Company Just Bought a Flying Car Startup

The small privately held aviation company, Terrafugia, which is aiming to produce a practical flying car, or more accurately a street legal aircraft, is being bought by the Chinese carmaker Geely, a company that also owns Volvo and Lotus.

Terrafugia started in 2006 by graduates from the MIT with the goal of building and selling a street legal vehicle with foldable wings that can transition into an airplane. While the flying car utopia of tomorrow still remains a pipe dream to many, the Transition roadable aircraft by Terrafugia has received deposits from hopeful buyers representing potential revenues over $25 million. The company has even flown a production prototype on several test flights representing a tangible example of a flying car.

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Unlike more recent concepts of flying cars that are capable of vertical flight, the Transition still requires a runway for takeoff and landing. Plus, the aircraft is not autonomous and the pilot will be required to earn an official pilot certificate in order to take the controls.

The aircraft employs a clever automatically folding wing mechanism which won the company a role as a contractor for the DARPA Transformer TX. The Transformer TX is a roadable aircraft demonstrator for the U.S. military that incorporates deployable surface technology.

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However, no one has been handed keys to a personal flying car and the company has seemingly shifted focus. In 2013 Terrafugia announced plans to develop a new vertical takeoff and landing successor to the Transition dubbed the TF-X. TF-X is described as a plug-in hybrid tiltrotor vehicle and a fully autonomous flying car, but no prototype has been announced for the TF-X.

Eleven years after its ambitious beginnings, Terrafugia is being absorbed by the Chinese automobile conglomerate. Geely is known for buying up struggling car manufacturers world-wide, buying the Swedish car maker Volvo, the struggling Malaysian car company Proton, and plans to buy the British sports car icon Lotus.

It's hard to know if Geely plans to use the Terrefugia assets as an exotic gimmick or pursue the sci-fi dream that still remains frustratingly elusive.

Source: Volvo's Parent Company Just Bought a Flying Car Startup

Rumor: Chinese automaker Geely to buy US flying car start-up Terrafugia

It's been a minute since we've heard from the flying car company known as Terrafugia. What have the staff been doing the past couple of years? Apparently, negotiating a buyout with major Chinese automaker Geely. 

A source familiar with the discussions says that talks between the U.S. start-up and the Hangzhou-based car giant have been underway since 2016. Terrafugia's pricetag, however, wasn't disclosed. 

Why would Geely want to get into the decidedly iffy, far-from-proven business of flying cars? There could be a couple of reasons. 

First, Geely has proven itself a planner, with its sights set on long-term growth. For example, Geely bought Volvo from Ford in 2010, and this May, it bought a controlling stake in the U.K.-based sportscar manufacturer, Lotus. Though neither of those are strong, mass-market brands, they're well known and respected. With proper management, they could be steady sources of gains in the coming years. 

Don't misunderstand: Terrafugia is a far, far cry from Volvo. However, analysts believe that Geely may want to become an early player in the flying car market--a market that, like the products it wants to sell, has yet to get off the ground.

A second reason that Geely may be considering a buyout of Terrafugia is because of China's extraordinarily crowded cities. Throughout China, traffic congestion is a chronic problem--so bad that well-off commuters often travel by helicopter.

Geely may feel that there's an opportunity for flying cars to become extraordinarily popular in its home country as China's urban population boom continues. And of course, Geely would want to beat competitors to the punch--competitors like Uber, which has announced plans to launch its own fleet of flying, autonomous vehicles in key global markets within ten years. 

That said, if the deal goes through, Geely may need to take a more hands-on-approach to Terrafugia's vehicles. The company's first flying car, the Transition, is more collapsible plane than helicopter, meaning that it needs a runway to get off the ground. In crowded cities, runways will be very hard to come by. Geely may need to put other models, like Terrafugia's XF-T concept, on the front burner if it aims to become a player in the field. 

Source: Rumor: Chinese automaker Geely to buy US flying car start-up Terrafugia

Volvo parent company Geely just bought a flying car startup

Geely, the Chinese parent company of Volvo, is certainly shaking things up in the automobile industry lately.

Not only has Volvo announced their decision to exclusively ship electric and hybrid vehicles by 2019, but Geely just made the decision to purchase Terrafugia - the startup best known for their creation of the Transition. The Transition is a plane/car hybrid vehicle that the company describes as "the world's first practical flying car."

Although flying cars are already in development by various ambitious startups, very few (if any) of them have come as close to making a truly practical road and air worthy vehicle as Terrafugia has.

In addition to having a cruise speed of 100 mph, 400 miles of range and full approval from the General Aviation Administration (making it road and air legal), the Transition also boasts an impressive suite of safety features. It has airbags, pre-tensioning load-limiting seatbelts, a crumple zone, and a full vehicle parachute - not to mention its ability to avoid terrain collisions via autonomous flight technologies.

It is easily the flying car prototype with the most potential at the moment, so it's not difficult to see why Geely would be interested in buying into that sort of tech.

With Geely's significant financial backing, Terrafugia's ambitious plan to create a fully electric, mass-market flying car -- nicknamed the TF-X -- with VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) capabilities might just become a reality.

Still, that sort of technology won't be here for a while. As for what we might see from Terrafugia in the near future, they've announced plans to start shipping out their Transitions within the next few years - after they've finalized production vehicle design and compliance testing. It's yet unclear if their recent acquisition will have an impact on that timeline.

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Source: Volvo parent company Geely just bought a flying car startup

‘I saw the car flying’: Witnesses recount Boston taxi crash that injured 10

BOSTON (WHDH) — Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate a crash outside Boston's Logan Airport that left ten cab drivers injured.

Many of the drivers injured Monday afternoon when a Metro taxi driver supposedly mistook the gas pedal for the break have not yet returned to work as their East Boston station sits all boarded up. Police say the most seriously wounded man is still at Mass General Hospital.

"When I come outside, I see eight people. Two under the car," one witness told 7News.

Authorities say a 56-year old Cambridge man popped the curb and slammed into a group of people standing outside a breakroom at the taxi station.

"I saw the car flying almost 60 miles per hour," Mohamed Shariff said.

Shariff was one of many who jumped into action and actually lifted the out-of-control cab up off those who were hit.

"We pushed the car back. I was the one that opened the car to the driver and got him out," Shariff said.

Police say the incident is still under investigation and that they will not make a decision on charges until they've completed a crash reconstruction and examination of the cab.

An investigation into the driver's history revealed no red flags in relation to terrorism, according to police.

Since the crash, barricades have been put up around the area to avoid future incidents.

(Copyright (c) 2017 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Source: 'I saw the car flying': Witnesses recount Boston taxi crash that injured 10

Holiday Tips 2 – how to earn Avios and get the best deals on Heathrow Airport car parking

With the schools breaking up, I am currently running updated versions of my annual travel planning series.  This will cover the best ways of earning or redeeming miles and points to get the best value from your Summer travel.  Part 1, on earning Avios and miles from car rentals, is here.

"How to get a discount on airport car parking" is a difficult and long-winded question, especially at Heathrow.  Luckily for me, the good people at moneysavingexpert.com have written a long article on the subject, which you can find here.  I can therefore focus on the 'miles and points' angles.

Earning and burning from official Heathrow Airport parking

The official Heathrow Airport car parks are certainly not the cheapest option but are certainly convenient.  Depending on your car park, you may even get to travel to Terminal 5 in the very cool driverless 'pods':

You can reduce what you pay for the official Heathrow car parks by redeeming Heathrow Rewards points.

The rate is a £10 voucher for every 500 points you redeem.  This is a very good deal, because the alternative would be receiving 500 Avios – and I certainly don't value an Avios point at 2p – or a £5 shopping voucher.

You can also earn points with Heathrow Rewards, convertible to Avios or various other airlines, when you book the 'official' Heathrow car parks, at the rate of 1 point for every £1 spent.  The website for the official Heathrow car parks is here.

How to use the official Heathrow car parks for less

Heathrow Airport owns another low-key parking company called Good To Go Parking.  This sells parking at Heathrow at discounted prices as long as you stay a Saturday night.

Whilst the Good To Go website isn't very clear about where you will be parking, you will actually be in the official airport-owned car parks.

Do check the official Heathrow parking site too, however, as on odd occasions it can be cheaper.

Earning Avios from offsite airport parking

You will usually save money by parking at an unofficial car park near an airport, although the trade off is a longer transfer time to and from the terminal.

Holiday Extras is the British Airways Executive Club partner and you earn 5 Avios per £1 when you book via ba.com.  Their home page for these offers is here.

ba.com also offers a range of airport hotels which offer inclusive parking.  You will also earn 5 Avios per £1 when you book these.

Earn Virgin Flying Club miles from offsite airport parking

Virgin Flying Club has a partnership with Purple Parking.  Full details are on the Virgin site here.

Purple Parking offers the option of a 'meet and greet' service.  They will collect your car at the terminal and bring it back on your return.  All Flying Club members get a discount – even those on the free Red level – and you will earn 250 to 850 miles depending on what service you book.

Using Clubcard vouchers for offsite airport parking

Tesco Clubcard has a partnership with airport parking group APH.  You can see details of the deal here.

You receive 2 x the face value of your Clubcard vouchers if you redeem them for APH parking.  You need to be booking for a minimum of eight days in order to use vouchers.

Do a one-way car rental to the airport for just £1!

As I outlined in this article, Europcar is offering one-way UK car rentals for a flat fee of £1, including basic insurance.  Most of these are to or from major airports, in particular Heathrow.

This is not a marketing ploy.  The company is trying to save itself money by using you as free labour to get cars back to their original location or to re-allocate vehicles across sites.  Why pay a truck to haul a vehicle across the country when you can find someone willing to pay you £1 for the privilege?!  The Europcar £1 rental page is here.

Earning hotel points with 'hotel and parking' packages

I wrote an article last year on the semi-secret 'park and fly' rates offered by IHG Rewards Club via a little-known corner of their website.  This is worth a look.  You may find that you can book a hotel room for the night before plus solve your parking problem for less than the cost of an official car park.

The benefit of booking an 'official' IHG package rather than using a consolidator like Holiday Extras is that you will earn IHG points for your stay and your elite benefits should be provided if you have status.

The other Heathrow hotels may also offer similar packages depending on how busy they are.

Staying at the Heathrow Thistle for a quick pod transfer

If you are flying out of Terminal 5 at Heathrow, take a look at the Thistle hotel.

This is, frankly, not the most modern of hotels.  The reason to book a 'park and fly' package here is that you can use the driverless pods to reach Terminal 5 as they operate from the official car park behind the hotel.  There is a £5 per person charge for this but it makes for a fun and trouble-free start to your holiday.

Get an 'under the carpet' deal at one of the Heathrow hotels!

Many of the hotels at Heathrow sell their parking spaces – with no obligation to book a room – via the JustPark website.

If you want a really cheap deal, there are also private individuals on JustPark who rent out their driveways!  Most live inside the 'free Heathrow bus travel zone' so you won't have to pay to get to or from the airport – although you will have to take your luggage on a standard bus.

I wrote a full overview of JustPark in this article.

Conclusion

There is no simple answer to the cheapest airport parking at Heathrow, or elsewhere in the UK. It is all about the trade off between the distance from the airport and the price you want to pay. If you would need a hotel the night before anyway, then a 'hotel plus parking' package is probably your best option – but remember that these packages, unless booked direct, are unlikely to earn hotel points or give you elite status benefits.

If you are price conscious, then don't be distracted by the Avios points on offer from various operators. Focus on the bottom line price.  If you are spending your employers money, or are not price sensitive, there are numerous opportunities to earn Avios or Heathrow Rewards from the pricier, more convenient parking options.

Source: Holiday Tips 2 – how to earn Avios and get the best deals on Heathrow Airport car parking

Flying Subway Cars

A Colombian airline is looking into selling standing room only tickets on airplanes.

The CEO, commenting on the safety concerns, pretty much said that seat belts on planes are purely symbolic. If the plane crashes you're dead whether you're sitting or standing. (That's some message for a CEO.)

He points out that there are no seat belts on high-speed rail. (That's actually a good point.)

Story HERE

ht/ lazy and inquisitive

Source: Flying Subway Cars

Video: The Kitty Hawk flying car gave a jaw dropping demo in San Francisco

Kitty Hawk's flying machines were spotted in San Francisco. Sebastian Thrun, CEO, pictured. Kitty Hawk

Kitty Hawk, the Silicon Valley startup building personal flying vehicles, is back in action. The company took its machines to the San Francisco Bay a few weeks ago, wowing onlookers as pilots swooped through the air, gliding past the city's scenic landmarks. 

The demonstration, which you can watch in the video below, was the first appearance of the Flyer machine in a high profile setting. The previous videos of the Flyer were filmed at a remote lake in California. 

Kitty Hawk CEO Sebastian Thrun told the crowd of onlookers in San Francisco that the final version of the vehicle, expected to go on sale by the end of the year, will be able to fly for at least 20 minutes and have a range of 50 miles and operate very quietly. 

Check it out:

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Source: Video: The Kitty Hawk flying car gave a jaw dropping demo in San Francisco