By Luke Ramseth, The Detroit News

DETROIT — On a recent morning downtown, Eric Allison hopped into the backseat of a sleek six-propeller air taxi and began to explain his company’s vision for the future of transportation.

Imagine pulling up your Uber app, said Allison, the chief product officer for Joby Aviation, and ticking a “Joby” option. A car soon arrives and shuttles you to a nearby vertiport. A few other rideshare folks are waiting there, too, and four of you pile into the eVTOL, short for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, along with a pilot.

The 20-mile or so journey over a gridlocked city — perhaps to an airport, where you’ll catch a flight — is quiet and quick, as the aircraft takes off like a helicopter before transitioning to airplane mode. After touching down,

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