[Photo: Audi]
In this week’s Ask Nathan:
- Flying car Air Force
- You are totally biased towards Ram trucks!
- A good car for driving through Colorado?
The first question comes from a viewer who is curious about a Flying Car Air Force – or the interest the United States government has in such technology.
Is the PAL-V destined as part of the Flying Car Air Force? The PAL-V aircraft holds two (2) passengers and the pilot needs to have a pilot’s license and a driver’s license and to fly/drive the PAL-V aircraft. And one needs to land or take off at an airfield or small strip of land. It takes between five to 10 minutes to switch from driving to flying mode and vice versa. There are two separate engines, one for flight and one for the car mode.
Q: (Via NathanAdlen@Twitter) What’s the US Air Force have to do with flying cars?
They are helping tech companies build them right? Odd that they are helping inventors right?
— SocialLeaf
A: Yes – the US Air Force will be assisting (in a few ways) some companies who are working on VTOL/STOL aircraft some may call “flying cars.”
Electric powered vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), long the domain of drones, looks like it may be the main motivator of flying cars.
Let’s be clear, the term “flying car” is not what it once was. It’s more of an idea of personal transportation nowadays. Taking the family taxi and glueing on wings is kind of passe. Still, there are a few companies that want a car that can sprout wings and fly – sort of.
Fortunately, many of these dream machines, be it air-mobility pods or flying compact cars – can actually fly. The technology is getting more advanced, materials lighter and ideas.. more adventurous.
That’s where the United States Air Force comes in.
Agility Prime
The US Air Force sees lots of potential and will undoubtedly appropriate some of this tech for National Defence and whatnot. Still, this could be a great way to jump-start some of these flying car startups that are currently stalling. That’s where Agility Prime comes in.
— N
The next question/statements comes from TFLtruck viewers and readers who think that I only favor Ram trucks.
Q (statements from a few viewers/readers): “You are totally biased towards Ram trucks!”
(Here are some additional examples)
The above video – “You have Ram bias!” and “Nice Ram commercial” among others..
Power Wagon videos and posts – “See? This proves Ram pays you for your reviews!” and “It’s not as good as (fill-in-the-name), you just like Rams”
The below video featuring the Ram Rebel TRX – “We get it you don’t like Ford geeezzzz” and “Why are you always excited about the TRX?!”
A: Hi guys.
I am answering this because I recently had a run-in with a Ford fan at the supermarket. He questioned my integrity regarding Ram, so I spent nearly 20-minutes showing him TFLtruck videos (including my votes for Gold Hitch Award vehicles) on my phone before he backed off.
He finally said, “It FELT like I only favored Rams.”
I get it. It dawned on me that no matter who watches what, the trucks I have been most enthusiastic about recently are Rams AND I fully admit to lusting after the Ram Power Wagon as a vehicle I would happily own. In fact, the only reason I avoid pulling the trigger is She-who-must-be-obeyed simply HATES that vehicle.
Any truck that has (or IS) something new or special is newsworthy and praiseworthy. Can you dig what I’m laying down? Any truck that seriously outperforms the competition is newsworthy and praiseworthy. See where this is going? Any truck that can do something that’s cool… you get the point.
If Mitsubishi suddenly decides to sell a truck in the USA – I’ll be excited to test it. I’ll definitely report it. If an EV pickup truck is procured, I will be anxious to try it. We’ll probably buy one to test it long term – awesomeness! If someone adds a new feature to a truck – I’ll try to find a way to demonstrate it to you.
The one thing I cannot do is convince all of you that I am more about the truck than I am the brand. You’ll have to take it from what is shown and what is written. I am always honest about my opinions.
N
The last question comes from a fan who want to know which vehicle would be best to bring to Colorado.
Q: Good day sir. Love all y’all shows from cars to trucks.
Me and my wife are coming back to Colorado in July, with our kids this time.
Have a question to ask you sir. You’re familiar with the area since y’all live there. We have a 2015 Ford Focus SE with a 1.0-liter turbo and 6-speed manual transmission. We love the car. Great on gas — sometimes we get 60 mpg.
Last year, we drove to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SEL, with the 2.4 CVT getting 27 mpg.
We took the last year the Outlander Tennessee Gatlinburg in March and in June It did all right, but we kept on having to put it in sport mode to climb hills. The question I have: which one would work better in the mountains of Colorado?
— Parnell
Speaking of a great cross country and mountain car (it’s turbocharged)….
A: That’s a great question and welcome to Colorado!
I know it’s a visit – but I am fiercely proud of the Rocky Mountains. Love this place!
As for the right car to bring up here in October – that’s a tough call. The only benefit to the Mitsubishi is the all-wheel drive (AWD) system. Otherwise, as you said, it’s not as efficient and it’s not very happy in the hills. Your Ford has a turbocharged engine and is much better on mpg.
The thing is, the Rocky Mountains can get snow as early as September. Either vehicle should have (at least) good all-season tires and a set of chains wouldn’t be a bad idea – just in case.
Here’s my take: If you are on a tight budget, go with the Ford – you’ll save a ton of money on fuel AND it will perform fairly well with its turbo in the hills. If you want comfort, more storage capacity and the security of AWD, go with the Mitsubishi.
Personally, unless I had to drag this kids with, I would opt for the Ford.
Recently, I went cross country in a Ford Focus and was pleasantly surprised at its overall capability, comfort, performance and economy. You can read about that (here). I did 2,000 miles (plus food and camping) for about $200.
Best of luck on your journey!