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Or if you want to have an airplane with a little more "uumph", try the http://www.zenithair.com/zodiac/xl/index.html (I'm a builder in progress, but I don't work for them :)). Seats 2 large people very comfortably (by 2-seat airplane standards), cruises at 138mph, and can be built from scratch. The raw materials in the airframe can be had for about $8k. It accommodates a converted Corvair automobile engine (the 1964+ non-turbo one) EXTREMELY well. Figure in another $4k to buy a used one and rebuild it into an engine suitable for aircraft use. Basic instruments and radios another $3k (that's generous - you can get away with MUCH less if you want to).

So again under $20k (and a lot of personal time investment; 1200 to 3000 hours of build time, but a fun project :)) you can have a brand new, all metal, two seat cross country capable flying car, er, airplane :).

BTW the plane listed about is Light Sport eligible which means you can get licensed to fly it a bit easier than getting a regular pilots license (less medical checks, less time in getting license, etc).

If you have anything that classifies as a sports car,

I don't, but I see plenty of middle classers with Camaros and Grand Prixes.

a $500 cell phone

Motorola Razr. 'Nuff said.

especially a non-experimental human-carrying aircraft of any sort

Granted, most home-built planes from kits qualify as "experimental" to the FAA, but that doesn't stop the Zeniths from being just as nice and just as affordable as that 1970's Cessna 152. Most of the people who fly either craft are firmly in the middle class.

Well, that's easy enough to fix.

Vase

You can purchase a used Cessna for ~$20,000-$50,000, or you can build one for ~$20,000. You'd probably get a bank loan similar to your car loan, but you may be able to stretch the loan for a longer period than a car. (Planes usually last at least 20 years. With good care on the airframe, it can last two to three times that.)

Which isn't to say that you should run out and get a plane. Many people (myself included) don't have sports cars either, despite the fact that they can afford them. Only bother with a plane if you actually want to fly.

As for the vase... I take it you're not married? ;-)

He took me to meet an old aircraft designer in California in 1980 - C. Gilbert Taylor perhaps? Someone who designed the piper cub anyway...

My brother's plane certainly won't apply - it's a Beaver many years older than he is :-)

Mind you, I'm in Canada and we already have something like this called an advanced ultralight since the early 90s.

W/o seeing the article, I can understand why they are using the subaru engine. They have been used in kit planes for years.

My recommendations (taking into account that my only aviation experience comes from reading magazines and a 1 hour demo flight) are:
Zenith Zodiac CH601XL for something good, but simple and inexpensive (about $40K)
Glasair II for the latest in hifg speen cruising (Costs about twice as much, tho)