General Motors Co on Tuesday presented a futuristic flying Cadillac – a self-driving vehicle which takes off and lands vertically and carries the passenger above the streets and through the air.
A senior GM executive described the concept as “reimagining the future of personal transportation”.
The single-passenger Cadillac – technically, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone – will be able to travel from urban rooftop to urban rooftop at speeds up to 55 miles per hour.
It is fully fully autonomous and all-electric, with a 90kW motor, a GM Ultium battery pack and an ultra-lightweight body with four pairs of rotors.
The flying Cadillac was presented in a video as part of a virtual keynote presentation by Chief Executive Mary Barra, along with a family-friendly Cadillac electric shuttle.
Barra last year revealed the automaker was exploring such alternative transportation modes as aerial taxis.
The concepts in the CES video were introduced by GM design chief Mike Simcoe, who described the VTOL as “the Cadillac of urban air mobility”.
“VTOL is key to GM’s vision for a multimodal future,” he said.
The autonomous Cadillac shuttle, described in the video as “arriving soon,” features a boxy silhouette that recalls the Cruise Origin, also designed by Simcoe’s team. It features fore and aft sliding doors and a panoramic glass roof.
The cabin has wraparound lounge-like seating, plus biometric sensors, voice control and hand gesture recognition.
Other automakers, including Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor and Geely Automobile, have previously have shown concept aerial vehicles as part of their future planning.
General Motors’ shares were up 5.8% to $47.62 in early afternoon trade.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")
