CBS News/ May 10, 2012, 11:31 AM

Video of Volkswagen concept "Hover Car"

Volkswagen Chinese hover car

/ Volkswagen

(CBS News) Concept cars never really reflect the vehicles that end up driving on the road. They overreach. They show us what cars could, conceivably, be one day. So don't get too excited about this Hover car Concept from Volkswagen. Well, maybe get a little excited. It is a hover car, after all.

Volkswagen, which translates to "people's car" in English, challenged China residents to submit their ideas of what the car of the future should look like. The company sifted through more than 119,000 ideas submitted to the project website and compiled three concepts, including the Hover Car.

The Hover Car is a two-seater zero emissions vehicle that hovers above ground and travels along electromagnetic road networks. It can detect other vehicles on the road while navigating China's congested traffic centers, and its small footprint makes it easy to park.

It is farfetched, sure. But maybe not as much as you'd think. Automotive designers around the world have pushed for electromagnetic highways. A group at Stanford University has been working on the design of a true electric highway. A true hover car may be far away, but maybe not that far.

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14 Comments Add a Comment

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Bojax39 says:: Mr & Mrs Mao hit the mean streets :-); reply

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NeoGraphix00 says:: The problem with this technology is that our society will never allow it to function. Too many people set in their ways and are afraid of change.; reply

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MIO42 says:: Can't wait
Bring it on VW
FEW YEARS AGO WHO HAD HEARD OF A PC?; reply

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netjunkie1 says:: Too bad I didn't understand a word.; reply

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CBSNancy says:: this is a bald faced advertisement for VW, shame on CBS for portraying it as some type of hi-tech, pie in the sky concept.
everyone knows Luke Skywalker had one of these, IN YOUR DREAMS!
better hurry, or you'll miss that next star flight to that other earthlike planet you've been itching to visit, hurry, hurry!; reply

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technoidDragon says:: Even if this is a feasible design, I think that the VW emblem would be a little too much, being placed square center of the windshield. Not to mention the entertainment value, hence, "where is the stereo system?" Also, the price of mass-manufacturing, & cost to the people, & cost of keeping electronic roads up & running.; reply

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Anonimous1 says:

Can someone tell me if this car is real? it doesn't look like.


Anonybis replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; It's a concept car meaning it's a concept and not a real car. :)

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TedTrent says:

Is this a real vehicle? I mean, this isn't a real video, right?


Anonybis replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; No it's not real.

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c3hamby says:: People, please research Nicolai Tesla. This type of travel that seems impossible has been around since his time. This is not conspiracy theory, Tesla was a very respected scientist during his time who wanted to transmit electricity wirelessly around the world. J.P. Morgan told him to stop because he ...'couldn't put a meter on it....' Google Nicolai Tesla....; reply

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Astrosurfer333 says:

Volk is german for nation as far as I know. It is similar to our language Afrikaans which is my first language and german my 4'th language. Nation wagon..sounds lame :D but that's because its translated sounds perfectly right in german and Afrikaans. The german word for people is leute. The germans had this tech some time ago in ww2 and has been hidden all these years. Not for much longer :D


WhiteTiger1206 replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; according to www.freetranslation.com, if you split the word in 1/2 to Volks wagon, it means Venture people. But volk is the same as folk in English.


unigolyn replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; The modern English word "people" can mean both "Volk" and "Leute". It doesn't mean nation, the German equivalent of which is, unsurprisingly, "Nation".

There's a difference of meaning between the sentences "The German people head to the polls" and "Some German people are having dinner". In the former, "people" is "Volk". In the latter, "people" is "Leute".

Volkswagen means, quite literally, "The people's car", not "Nation wagon".