Flying car highlights N.Y. Auto Show
(CBS News) The Big Apple is the car capital of the world this week.
The New York International Auto Show is under way and will be open through April 15.
Not only can you find the hottest cars that will soon be hitting showrooms nationwide - you can also find dream cars of the future on display.
David Champion, director of automobile testing for Consumer Reports, showcased four standouts on "CBS This Morning: Saturday" - including one George Jetson would drool over - a car that can fly. (Click on the video below to see the cars, and what Champion had to say:
Check out our new cars blog, DASH!
Toyota Prius C
The Prius C is a smaller and more affordable member of the Prius family. In our initial evaluation, it got about 46 mpg, but Toyota says it gets 53. Forty-six is still the best non-plug-in car Consumer Reports has ever tested.
The interior is a bit cheap, but it's very functional. There's lots of bins and cup holders that make it very easy to live with. The price is easy, too - about $20,000. This is the least expensive member of the Prius line. But you will still save a ton of money on gas.
2013 Lincoln MKZ
Lincoln has been a forgotten brand, but it has a good heritage. This new MKZ has superb styling; it's not a fuddy-duddy old man's car. They are going to do a hybrid version of this car, too, which will give it great fuel efficiency.
It also has an innovative sun roof that will give you a full sky view in the front and back seats and opens all the way back into the rear window, the longest of any car today.
On the negative side, it does have all touch-sensitive switches. They look nice, but might be difficult to manipulate. But we'll see in the testing. It starts at $35,000 - a good midrange price.
2013 McLaren MP4-12C
This is not your grandmother's Oldsmobile. It's powered by a twin turbo V8. It's capable of over 200 mph, looks terrific, and will cost you around $229,000. They will sell about a thousand worldwide in the first year.
It has scissor doors that rotate up and out of the way. The handling and overall performance are excellent. McLaren (a British company) makes Formula One race cars, and this is their second road car using much of the same technology and engineering.
2013 Transition car/plane
This is really more of a plane that can drive on the road. The wings fold up. You can land your plane, fold the wings up, and drive home!
It will cruise in the air at about 100 mph and on the road it will do about 80 mph. You need a runway, though - it must land at an FAA-approved airport, not on the interstate! It will cost about $279,000 - and they have a number of orders already.