views

for openers

Cars’ Future Up In Th e Air?

L

Suggested Retail Price includes
ast week at the Top Marques
driver and passenger side parachutes.
Show in Monaco — billed as “the
Excludes taxes, title, license (driver’s
world’s greatest supercar show
and pilot’s) and registration. $750 Bonus
on Earth” — several manufacturers
Bucks Rebate for eligible AeroMobil
unveiled … flying cars! But fear not,
employees. Glove compartment comes
they’re years away from becoming a
with an owner’s manual plus a
reality, right? Wrong.
prayer book of your choice.
One Dutch company says its
Actually, you don’t have to
models will be ready for market
go all the way to Slovakia to
by the end of next year. And I
get in on the flying car craze.
thought the bike lane added to
I Googled flying cars and dis-
Northwestern Highway was a
covered that, well, Google has
risky transportation innovation
entered into this “magnificent
we weren’t ready for. Yep, in a
men in their flying machines”
world that hasn’t figured out
sweepstakes … at least Larry
how to regulate drones from
Alan Muskovitz
Page, one of its founders has.
peering inside our bedroom
Page is backing a Silicon
windows or whom it is we’re
Valley flying car company
supposed to yell at when a
called Kitty Hawk that recently
driverless car cuts us off, along
test drove/flew one of its car/planes
comes flying cars.
near San Francisco. Page should know
AeroMobil of Slovakia is one of the
something about taking things “sky
firms leading the way. They’re already
high.” As I penned this column, Google’s
taking reservations with deliveries
stock closed at $862.76 per share.
expected in 2020. So, stop by your local
Of all the power players in the flying
Metro Detroit Area AeroMobil dealer
car sweepstakes, the one that has really
today! Ah, is there anything better than
caught my attention is Uber. Yes, the
that new car/plane smell?
same company whose app allows you to
And just what is it going to take to
hail a ride within minutes, now wants
get you into an AeroMobil? $1.2 mil-
to literally pick you up, up and away!
lion to $1.6 million. I’m waiting to hear
Uber held its first ever three-day
back from the company, but I believe
the price difference is based on whether Elevate Summit last week in Dallas that,
according to its website, focused exclu-
you go with a cloth or leather interior.*
sively on its interest in “fast-forwarding
*DISCLAIMER: Manufacturers

to the future of on-demand, urban air
transportation” through the use of
VTOLs …Vertical Take Off and Landing
vehicles.
I can see it now. You open your Uber
car/plane app and find out that Carl,
a retired mechanic from Redford,
who’s driving to supplement his Social
Security income, is only seven minutes
away from landing on your driveway.
Of course, this begs the question — are
you supposed to tip your Uber driver/
pilot?
Flying cars raise so many questions.
Will senior drivers leave their turn sig-
nals on when they’re flying? And I shud-
der at the thought of the tough conver-
sation adult children are going to have
one day with a parent: “Dad, we kids
have been talking and we think it’s time
for you to give up driving … and flying.”
Here’s the stark reality. We humans
continue to introduce technologies
that far outpace our abilities to handle
them. But who am I to stand in the way
of progress? So, bring on the flying cars.
Just do me a favor. When it’s your birth-
day? Please make sure you really nail
that fly-by when you go through Jax Kar
Wash. •

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voiceover/acting tal-
ent, speaker, emcee and a regular guest host
on the Mitch Albom Show on WJR AM 760.
Visit his website at laughwithbigal.com and
“Like” Al on Facebook.

guest column

Time To Mobilize For Mass Transit

O

ver these next three weeks, the
Motor City Freedom Riders are
gearing up for a “Rally for Real
Regional Transit.” The event is also
being supported by Detroit Jews for
Justice. I urge the Metro Detroit Jewish
community to attend
and raise its voice for
accessible and afford-
able public transit.
The 3-mile QLine
streetcar, a $140
million project that
duplicates existing
bus service along
Martin Baum
Woodward, is open-
ing May 12 to a
planned celebration
by “local officials and
dignitaries.”
Meanwhile, those same officials and
dignitaries continue to do very little
about the ongoing transportation crisis
in our region, as thousands of Southeast
Michigan residents are stranded by the

lack of adequate transit service in the
city of Detroit and the suburbs.
These are not just “poor people”
— our house cleaners and domestic
employees — who require decent tran-
sit to reach their jobs, homes and chil-
dren’s schools. They are our young peo-
ple who have moved into Downtown
and Midtown Detroit, nearby neighbor-
hoods and close-in suburbs. They want
a quality urban living experience, which
means a reliable transit system that
really works to get them to all parts of
Metro Detroit.
We’re not going to let those same offi-
cials and dignitaries continue to evade
responsibility for taking action for real
regional transit.
Motor City Freedom Riders is hosting
rallies around the region on the morn-
ing of May 12 to hold them accountable
and demand that they take immediate
steps to improve transit; most
importantly, by placing another regional
transit measure on the ballot for voters

to approve in 2018 and putting their full
support behind that proposal.
Detroit Jews for Justice, who rallied
around last year’s ballot campaign,
seeks to turn out wide Jewish support
for Motor City Freedom Riders and
mobilize for a transit system that serves
Metro Detroiters of all class back-
grounds.
The main rally will be 8-10 a.m.
May 12 in Detroit outside the QLine
garage on Woodward just north of
Grand Boulevard, and there will be
sister rallies in Oakland, Macomb and
Washtenaw counties as well. Visit the
“Motor City Freedom Riders” Facebook
page to see details, RSVP and share
with others.
We are hosting local gatherings in
Ann Arbor and Ferndale next week
to plan these sister rallies to target
county leadership in demanding that a
regional transit plan be put before the
voters again in 2018. The Motor City
Freedom Riders general membership

Our
Story

Like many business startups,
Paper Goods Plus began in a
basement. Today, Nechama and
Nachy Soloff have a storefront in
Oak Park that stocks large varieties
of party supplies and home basics.
It began when Nechama, pregnant
and asked by her doctor to stop
working, was looking for a gentle way
to occupy herself. “We saw a need
for nice party goods, and Nachy had
wholesale contacts,” she said. “We
started with two wooden shelves in
our basement, and the community
has been unbelievable in coming to
us when they have events.”
In turn, Nachy says their staff takes
time with customers and helps walk
them through their needs. “It’s
personalized service,” Nachy said.
“We stock unusual items, patterns
and colors you can’t get easily, and
once people come in, they’re hooked.
They come back to show friends.”
But carrying all the sizes and
varieties of the products isn’t cheap,
said Nachy, “and we needed to
move out of the house and find
more space.” The couple came to
Hebrew Free Loan’s Marvin I. Danto
Small Business Loan Program to
help expand in a new location.
“An HFL Neighborhood Project
loan helped us purchase our home,
so we jumped when we read about
the business loans,” Nachy said.
“They were so encouraging to us.”
“Beyond the check, there’s a real
support system there,” Nechama
said. “The mentorship program is a
great resource, a great help with
our growth. The money is interest-
free and the community is with us.”

Click. Call. Give Now.
www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184

Health. A fresh start.
A good education.
The next great business idea.

Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-
free loans to members of our
community for a variety of
personal and small business
needs. HFL loans are funded
entirely through community
donations which continually
recycle to others, generating
many times the original value
to help maintain the lives of
local Jews.

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301

Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

@HFLDetroit

continued on page 8

jn

May 4 • 2017

5