Flying Car Model to Touch Down in Detroit Auto Show

Flying cars are no longer a fantasy. The Alef Model A, the first street-legal flying car approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will be featured on the main floor at this year's North American International Detroit Auto Show. This feature will be part of their Air Mobility Experience.

The Detroit Auto Show has recently announced the return of their Air Mobility Experience for this year, and as part of this event, they will feature displays from AIR and Alef. AIR and Alef are recognized as pioneering electric vehicles designed for take-off and landing. Furthermore, Alef Aeronautics will be showcasing the Alef Model A. This vehicle can perform conventional road travel, fitting into regular lanes while also possessing vertical take-off capabilities, allowing it to soar above traffic.

The Detroit Auto Show is scheduled to run from September 13 to 24 at Huntington Place in Downtown Detroit. During this event, Jim Dukhovny, CEO of Alef Aeronautics, is slated to speak on September 13 from 2 to 2:45 p.m.

Additionally, beyond the opportunity to see the flying car, those interested can own one for themselves. According to Alef Automotive's website, the vehicle is expected to be priced at $300,000 each, with the first deliveries projected to take place by the end of 2025.

According to the company's website, the flying car obtained certification as a "low-speed vehicle." This limits its maximum speed to approximately 25 miles per hour when driven on paved roads. The company's rationale behind this restriction is that if drivers require a faster mode of transportation, they can utilize Alef's flight capabilities, as stated on the website.

It’s worth mentioning that the vehicle still requires approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before it can be legally operated on roads.

There are some strange and peculiar roads around the world which can often make driving an... interesting experience. While many roads are bland, Michigan has some unique roads. And many of those roads have some interesting history.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the oldest constructed roads discovered to date are in former Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. These stone-paved streets date back to about 4000 B.C. in the Mesopotamia cities of Ur and Babylon.

Here in Amercia, the State Highway Department was created in 1905. In the early 1900s, lcoal leaders, including Horatio S. "Good Roads" Earle and Frank F. Rogers, saw a pressing need to get Michigan out of the mud.

Over time, they accomplished the first mile of concrete highway built, first painted centerline, first roadside park, and the first four-way red/yellow/green electric traffic light built on a solid foundation for a sustainable transportation system in Michigan. The demand for paved roads rose with the use of wheeled vehicles.

When it comes to Michigan’s roads and highways, there are many facts. Most Michiganders would find some of these quite surprising. The Michigan Department of Transportation has compiled a list of facts about the roads and highways in Michigan. With facts about Michigan’s first road map, first four lane road, and others. But which facts do some Michiganders not know about?

Here are 8 Michigan road facts you probably didn’t know about.

Currently, Michigan has one of the nation's shortest signed interstates. The shortest freeway in Michigan is only 1.1 miles long. Though not signed, New York has a  0.70 miles freeway, which is even smaller than Michigan's smallest.

The three-span US-12 camelback bridge in Mottville is Michigan's longest remaining bridge of this type. Constructed in 1922, these bridges are found primarily in Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

The towers on the Mackinac Bridge or “Mighty Mac” (552 feet high) are almost as tall as the Washington Monument (555 feet high). The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world.

The first Michigan road map, with only three roads on it, was published by the United States Congress in 1826. As a matter of fact, the first surveyed road in Michigan was Pontiac Road (now called M-1 or Woodward Avenue) connecting Detroit and Pontiac in 1819.

M-185 on Mackinac Island is the only state highway in the nation where motor vehicles are banned. Motorized vehicles have been prohibited on Mackinac Island since 1896 because the horses were disturbed by the noisy engines of some of the island's first cars. Furthermore, carriage drivers formed an association, convincing islanders to ban automobiles.

The longest highway in Michigan is I-75, which runs 395 miles from the Ohio border to the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie. I-75 also passes through six different states. At its north end, it starts on the Canada/U.S. border at the top of Michigan at Sault Ste. Marie. Then it heads south to Naples in Florida, where it bends east and runs across to Miami.

MDOT says that there is enough pavement on Michigan roadways to build a one-lane road from the Earth to the moon. Michigan has a total of 120,256 miles of paved roadway. This includes 9,669 route miles of state trunkline, 89,444 route miles of county roads, and 21,198 route miles of city and village streets. However, according to NASA, the Moon us an average of 238,855 miles away from Earth.

Eight Michigan highways began as Native American trails, US-2 (from Sault Ste. Marie to Green Bay); I-75 (from Detroit to Saginaw), I-94 (from Detroit to St. Joseph; I-96 (from Detroit to Grand Rapids), I-94 (from Detroit to Port Huron), US-41 (from L'Anse to Marquette), and US-12 (from Ypsilanti to Chicago). Michigan's three largest tribes are the Ojibwe (also called Chippewa), the Odawa (also called Ottowa) and the Potawatomi (also called the Bode'wadmi). Michigan also federally recognizes these tribes and others in the state.