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"...the people dealing with these new technologies will still be derived from the human stock we're familiar with today."
- Charles Stross

Air-Car  
  A personal flying car  

As far as I know, this is the first use of this phrase in science fiction, if not elsewhere.

In several scattered places were other roof doors like the one he had emerged from, and straight ahead stood a row of transparent objects that had to be the air-cars. One massive-headed man in purple was loitering near them, but he was the only person in sight. Allison strode casually over to the nearest car, studying it closely as he went.

It, like the others, was small, hardly five feet high, with open sides and streamlined shells of a stuff like glass, front and back. Within was one wide seat, in front of which were three control levers which led to a boxed space below. It rested on three splayed legs. And that was all there was. No motive device was apparent, and there were no wings or vanes whatever.

Allison was not pleased to have a witness to his first flight, but he stepped into the nearest car without hesitation and gingerly raised the lever he guessed would be the elevator. The car lifted. Slight pulls on another lever turned the nose of his craft, and the third gave for­ward velocity. It was extremely simple. A glance at the man below showed that he wasn’t even look­ing. Boldly, now, Allison ordered the controls, and within a minute he was climbing silently a hundred feet above the edge of the roof to where other air-cars like elongated soap bubbles were scattered through the sky above.

Technovelgy from A Matter of Size, by Harry Bates.
Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1934
Additional resources -

See also the Tin Cabby from Cities in Flight, a set of novels written in the early 1950's by James Blish.

Just for fun, take a look at this visualization of the flying taxicab idea from Fifth Element, the 1997 movie starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich.

Compare also to High Kavalaan aircar from Dying of the Light (1977) by George RR Martin.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from A Matter of Size
  More Ideas and Technology by Harry Bates
  Tech news articles related to A Matter of Size
  Tech news articles related to works by Harry Bates

Air-Car-related news articles:
  - AirCar Completes Flight, Transforms Into Groundcar

Articles related to Transportation
CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride
Futuristic Transit Elevated Bus Never Really Worked
Japan Automated Cargo Transport
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany

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