Hovercraft surfacing again

1.6 billion hovercraft plan again testing the water despite never quite landing as alternative for commuters. Largely unchanged in a half-century, the invention still elicits “oohs” and “ahs” in the tech-savvy Bay Area. Maybe it’s the name. Maybe it’s the gravity-defying air cushion it rides upon, leading many to call it “futuristic,” even though it was invented in the same decade as the push-button telephone.