AIR CAR. Motors run on compressed air.

[GasSavers_RickyD]

This is the future technology that everyone should be investing in.

LA to NY on one tank of gas!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4

[GasSavers_RickyD]

nobody has any input on this?

[rvanengen]

Looks very promising, especially for city and industrial driving. Not sure how well it would work for semi's in the mountains as they do need a LOT of torque...but it makes me wonder how hard it would be to adapt a car. The Indian/French model looks like it could easily be powered by scuba equipment and a home compressor at 4500psi can be had pretty cheaply!

[cfg83]

RickyD -

Originally Posted by RickyD

nobody has any input on this?

I am blocked from seeing it here at work. Are there any non-video articles on this?

CarloSW2

[brucepick]

Blocked too.
Can someone outline the concept briefly?

[GasSavers_RickyD]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...s/4217016.html

India’s largest automaker is set to start producing the world’s first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine’s pistons. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008.

Barring any last-minute design changes on the way to production, the Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI says it should cost around $2 to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. Drivers also will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car’s built-in compressor to refill the tanks in about 4 hours.

Of course, the Air Car will likely never hit American shores, especially considering its all-glue construction. But that doesn’t mean the major automakers can write it off as a bizarre Indian experiment — MDI has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.

[cfg83]

RickyD -

Thanks for the url ...

Originally Posted by RickyD

...
Barring any last-minute design changes on the way to production, the Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI says it should cost around $2 to fill the car?s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. Drivers also will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car?s built-in compressor to refill the tanks in about 4 hours.
...

Ok, my opinion is that when you translate that car to the US, it gets heavier for safety reasons and therefore loses max speed and range. Let's say for the purpose of argument, it loses 25% of both :

68 MPH becomes 51 MPH
125 Miles becomes 93 Miles

IF I am right, then it would be a great local driver, but not a freeway commuter because of the max speed.

However, the picture of the car is optimized for "urban cargo", like a Japanese sub-minivan, not for commuting. If you put the drivetrain in a 2 seat aero-optimized commuter, then maybe you would have a winner.

Does this car (and/or my opinion) run on hot air or cold air ?

CarloSW2

[CO ZX2]

This is the 3rd separate thread in recent days of the air car.

Link to one of the others:

http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?
p=54959&highlight=air+car#post54959

brucepick: please read the PM I sent you earlier today.

[GasSavers_RickyD]

Originally Posted by cfg83

RickyD -

Thanks for the url ...


Ok, my opinion is that when you translate that car to the US, it gets heavier for safety reasons and therefore loses max speed and range. Let's say for the purpose of argument, it loses 25% of both :

68 MPH becomes 51 MPH
125 Miles becomes 93 Miles

IF I am right, then it would be a great local driver, but not a freeway commuter because of the max speed.

However, the picture of the car is optimized for "urban cargo", like a Japanese sub-minivan, not for commuting. If you put the drivetrain in a 2 seat aero-optimized commuter, then maybe you would have a winner.

Does this car (and/or my opinion) run on hot air or cold air ?

CarloSW2

even so if you ran a small diesel generator in the back to recharge the air your miles could become huge. In the video I first posted they claim LA to NY on one tank of gas

[cfg83]

RickyD -

Originally Posted by RickyD

even so if you ran a small diesel generator in the back to recharge the air your miles could become huge. In the video I first posted they claim LA to NY on one tank of gas

Cool. I will have to watch it when I get home. Sounds like an excuse to beef up the air compressors at Gas Stations. That would be an easy infrastructure upgrade.

EDIT : And a diesel generator operating at ONE RPM for best efficiency!

CarloSW2