1media/Ford_02.jpgmedia/Ford_02.jpg2020-06-30T10:43:33-07:001958 Ford Glideair12plain2020-08-27T11:13:44-07:00Ford’s senior development engineer David J. Jay demonstrates a revolutionary design for a wheelless car. Turbojet engines would force air through devices called “levapads” in order to lift the car slightly above the ground. By drastically reducing friction, this futuristic hovercraft would propel drivers to their destination at hundreds of miles per hour over any surface—including water.
1media/Ford_03.jpgmedia/Ford_02.jpg2020-06-30T10:42:08-07:001954 Ford FX-Atmos4plain2020-08-22T15:49:05-07:00Los Angeles Ford dealers Dan Ashcraft and Walter Cooper pose with a dream machine described by the company’s publicity brochures as purely a “car of the future” that would “never be built for sale.” Ford even imagined the Atmos as a suitable prototype for cars that would run on nuclear-powered engines. The design, clearly inspired by aerospace and aviation technology, featured two footlong spikes that protruded like jet intakes from the front headlights. Drivers controlled the car with two joysticks mounted on the dashboard instead of a steering wheel.