eBay Find of the Day: Moller SkyCar
The McLaren F1, Koenigsegg CCX and Bugatti Veyron all held claim to the worlds fastest car title for at least a short time, by they ain't got nothin' on the Moller M400. Moller M400? Yeah, the Moller M400. It isn't just inching past them either. It will literally fly past these three supercars like they are standing still. It can outpace them by a good 100 mph. Heck, its cruising speed is 275! And it will do it with some added versatility that puts it miles above the competition. Well, 36,000 feet above them anyhow. The Moller M400 is the funky looking Skycar developed by Moller International Inc. and promised to be the next big thing for commuters tired of increasing traffic congestion.
Until now, a few orders were taken and the prototype was demonstrated, and the car even appeared in last year's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. Perhaps not as stylish as the special edition M6 convertible in this year's catalog, but it can fly, remember? And now one lucky owner will actually be able to get his hands on a functioning prototype! You see, company principle Paul Moller has decided to put one up on eBay starting Monday. Starting bid will be $4 million. The company has had some problems recently and is selling this "car" to help clear a debt backlog. Paul himself has given up about $1.5 mil in salary to help out.
Besides being well-heeled, we are guessing that you'll need at least a pilot's license if you plan to actually use it. You'll also probably have to fly out of airports, rather than from the freeway whenever you feel like it. Well, technically the car isn't even road legal just yet anyhow. So maybe this isn't for everybody. Maybe you'd prefer spending your 4 extra-large on something more like the Ferrari 612 P4/5. Or a Veyron and a Cessna or two. But come on people, who wouldn't want a flying car? And since we were among the first to tell you about it, whoever gets this has to take us for a ride.
tip: Andrew
[Source: Sacramento Business Journal]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jason_801 2:18PM (10/06/2006)
My first thought was "Jay Leno".
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Charles 2:24PM (10/06/2006)
"functioning prototype" yeah right. As far as I know they've never done anything more than a few tethered tests. They've been pushing this thing for at least 20 years, and its never flown.
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Cap'n Jack 2:25PM (10/06/2006)
Mine was James Bond.
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KC 2:27PM (10/06/2006)
That is a really expensive really small plane, not a car. It isn't even as functional as either a plane or a car.
That is not the car or plane of tomorrow so what's the point?
The problem with this thing is that 4 million can be much better spent as you guys have plainly indicated.
If you want a private aircraft they can be had for far less then $4 million and will be much more versatile then that thing which can't even carry much.
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Jellodyne 2:37PM (10/06/2006)
Some video of this thing in a controlled forward flight would be helpful. Were that possible.
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Tal D 2:41PM (10/06/2006)
Persistence. This man,Moller,has been developing these vehicles for??years now. 35-40 more or less? My memory is fading. He certainly deserves accolades of some kind to have brought his dream to fruition.
Certainly there is a place/niche for this flying car. Would anyone with the $ to purchase this opt for a regular small jet or prop powered plane intead as mentioned? As a car it is not street legal it loses one of it's intended functions.
Any how, my applause to Mr. Moller!
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Will 6:24PM (10/06/2006)
This guy is a con artist. Ooooo, he's given up is 1.5 mil salary to help. Hmmm, should he have ever collected 1/10th of that amount until the company actually produced a genuine product?
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Pork Rind 3:18PM (10/06/2006)
Man, I think you'd have to be retarded to pay $4+ million for a Skycar that can neither drive nor fly. Buy an Eclipse, or better yet, a Javelin and _actually_ fly.
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Edsel 3:39PM (10/06/2006)
Mr. Moller is the definition of "Snake Oil".
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David 3:43PM (10/06/2006)
Will (#8.),
Uh, Moller has produced and licensed more than a few commercially available products over the years -- the guy is quite an inventor/tinkerer. Ever heard of the SuperTrapp muffler? Yup, that's his. I also believe he has manufactured and sold hovering "inspection bots" to the city of SF for the purpose of inspecting the Golden Gate bridge, if I'm not mistaken. I wouldn't say those are the actions of a con-artist. To me they're the actions of a smart guy, who is trying to fund his dream.
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christopher 4:34PM (10/06/2006)
In Back to the Future 2, they had flying cars and fusion power in the year 2015... so, this guy Moller has another 9 years to make this thing work and all you naysayers and critics should just shut the hell up.
They need to change their video files, though... no one uses that damn RealMedia format anymore...
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Todd 5:03PM (10/06/2006)
Why would Moller be getting THAT much in salary in the first place? ($1.5million of his salary - that's 10 years of the average startup company CEO, so he's obviously taking way too much)
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Mattazuma 5:53PM (10/06/2006)
He's been running his skycar scam for years. The SEC nailed him a while back for securities fraud related to one of his previous bankrupt Skycar companies.
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Spaceweasel 6:58PM (10/06/2006)
I don't know what his salary might be, but the post says "Paul himself has given up about $1.5 mil in salary to help out." It doesn't state that this is in one year. Maybe it is, but to jump to that conclusion isn't justified.
And yes, he should be getting paid something while he labors to bring a product to market. To claim otherwise would limit innovation to privately wealthy tinkerers.
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Will 7:23PM (10/17/2006)
BTW, I was #8 referred to above.
If you think he's on the level, you might want to check this out before investing or putting a down payment on one:
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/comp17987.htm
He's raised 5.1 million in crappy stock offering and 1.5 million ends up in his paycheck?!?!?!?! Even if that is over many years, seems a little out of balance.
This is his real snake oil:
http://www.moller.com/about/history/lifeext/
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FBC 8:00PM (10/06/2006)
Ha, Kind of like nuke fusion, its 10 years away....always 10 years away.
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.T 1:16AM (10/07/2006)
If I had the money, it would be mine.
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DPC car videos 4:00AM (10/07/2006)
That is awesome that is if its true.
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vagabond 6:22PM (10/08/2006)
Seesm wierd seeing it was on ebay in jan 2003 that they are doing it again? don't know what happened with origional sale but i did remeber this
http://rotarynews.com/node/view/153
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Ricky Bobby 7:17AM (10/07/2006)
why hasnt he posted a video of the prototype in action?
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