Smogchaser

Photoshop, about 8 hours.
My entry for the latest contest.
The Magic Phase this time is: "Punk Tech Aircraft"
Made me happier than a squirrel in a nut processing plant to see that theme pop up. The only problem: So many types of -punk tech, but only one entry...

I tried a couple different designs that ended up a bit too generic-looking, but finally hit on something with this one. If I had to categorize it, I'd place it solidly between dieselpunk and atompunk.

The Smogchaser is a high-end aircar developed in a joint venture by the prestigious companies Dayglow Corp. (maker of quality atomic-powered household appliances) and Carbonics inc. (the company responsible for advancing aircar power and range, and developing the automatic ejector seats and child safety locks for windows now required on all aircars by federal law.)

The engine is a sort of hybrid design, using the particle radiation from a fission reactor (housed in the large protective cylinder at rear) to heat and "crack" the stable complex carbon molecules of liquid diesel fuel into highly combustable short-chain forms like octane and propane, prior to injection into a set of high-pressure jet turbines. This design is hailed by many (especially the manufacturer's ad campaigns) as the "aircar of the future". Far more fuel efficient than the competition; the much reduced exhaust plumes it releases are evidence of the revolutionary "green design".

The manufacture also insists that, contrary to the sensationalist claims of a few class-action lawsuits still pending trial, the exhaust fumes are only mildly radioactive, and that under proper maintenance the "explosive meltdowns" described by the families of certain individuals are extremely rare. They also point out that these are small hazards compared to the threats of the ever-increasing clouds of smog surrounding most major cites.

(Sorry if this seems a bit political to some people, I just like to make worlds that have a sense of tension and this sort of political rhetoric and nonsense is great fodder for that. )