In the 1950s, the first reports of cars shutting down in the proximity of UFOs started hitting the news, most memorably those from Levelland, Texas, in 1957. Then, in the 1960’s, there were reports of UFOs chasing cars, sometimes hitting them, and in fair turnabout, reports of cars chasing UFOs. Things didn’t escalate until 1978, when the first reports came out of UFOs lifting cars up in the air, carrying them for various distances and periods of time, and then returning them to the ground.
In 1978 alone, there were four reports that this writer was able to find. The first of these occurred in July of that year and is described on the website of the Missouri Investigators Group.
According to the report, there was a UFO flap in Ellsberry, Mo., at the time. On July 27, Mrs. Clora Winscher, was driving towards her home in Arnold, Mo., after visiting her brother in Beaufort. At around 12:30 a.m., she was coming out of Union, Mo., when she saw what she thought was a tractor trailer coming straight at her. As she braced for impact, her car filled up with white light.