Air Cars: A New Wind for America's Roads?

[Yes We Did]

Source: Kiplinger.com & Yahoo Finance

A new carmaker has a plan for cheap, environmentally friendly cars to be built all over the country

An air-powered car? It may be available sooner than you think at a price tag that will hardly be a budget buster. The vehicle may not run like a speed racer on back road highways, but developer Zero Pollution Motors is betting consumers will be willing to fork over $20,000 for a vehicle that can motor around all day on nothing but air and a splash of salad oil, alcohol or possibly a pint of gasoline.

The expertise needed to build a compressed air car, or CAV, is not rocket science, either. Years-old, off-the-shelf technology uses compressed air to drive old-fashioned car engine pistons instead of combusting gas or diesel fuel to create a burst of air to do the same thing. Indian carmaker Tata has no qualms about the technology. It has already bought the rights to make the car for the huge Indian market.

On highways, the CAV can cruise at interstate speeds for nearly 800 miles with a small motor that compresses outside air to keep the tank filled. The motor isn't finicky about fuel. It will burn gasoline or diesel as well as biodiesel, ethanol or vegetable oil.

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106040/Air-Cars:-A-New-Wind-for-America's-Roads

[WillParkinson]

1. Salad oil?

If I can't use a balsamic vinaigrette I refuse!

(I hope they're successful in this endeavor. That would be awesomely cool.)

[wtmusic]

4. Unfortunately OPEC controls the world's vinegar supply nt

[valerief]

14. lol!

[wtmusic]

2. Air car vs. physics...physics wins

Using the small motor to turn the wheels of the car would be much more efficient than using it to compress air, then using that stored energy to drive the car.

800 miles on a pint of gasoline? Bah...this is a joke.

[Ian David]

7. You use an electric compressor at home to recharge the motor at night...

... at off-peak rates, and then use the gasoline engine inside the car to supplement the compressed air tank.

[wtmusic]

10. Even still

there is no way a "small motor" will keep the car running at highway speeds. Even less efficient than using a small motor to turn the wheels directly.

[Ian David]

11. It says it won't run at highway speeds. 35 MPH maximum on compressed air.

The air car can tool along at a top speed of 35 mph for some 60 miles or so on a tank of compressed air, a sufficient distance for 80% of consumers to commute to work and back and complete daily chores.

[wtmusic]

12. OK, interstate speeds (whatever that means)

"On highways, the CAV can cruise at interstate speeds for nearly 800 miles with a small motor that compresses outside air to keep the tank filled."

[Devil_Fish]

25. Why so quick to dismiss? Do you work for Shell or Chevron?

This is of great intrest. Most gas stations provide air to fill your tires for a quarter. If you could run your car on air, you could save the planet and your wallet at the same time. I wounder what the opperating pressure is?? if it is 100psi, you could buy a compressor for under $400 and fill up in your garage every night.

We should be using this tec like yesterday.

[Romulox]

3. It takes energy to compress air. It's a LIE to call them "Zero Pollution Motors".

No. Such. Thing. As. A. Free. Lunch. :hi:

[wtmusic]

6. 'Zactly.

It's amazing that the author prints the inventor's claim with no challenge: "On highways, the CAV can cruise at interstate speeds for nearly 800 miles with a small motor that compresses outside air to keep the tank filled."

:crazy:

[Ian David]

8. You can use solar or wind power to run an electric air compressor. n/t

[Romulox]

13. You could do the same to charge a battery. It's unclear how inserting an air compressor

into the mix improves the efficiency of producing electricity from solar or wind power. :wtf:

[Ian David]

17. Compressed air is just another means to STORE energy.

It's more environmentally-friendly than any battery technology I've ever heard of.

But you're right, it is NOT the most efficient.

But it's probably about the cleanest.

Unless we can develop a super-efficient mechanical fly wheel using magnetic superconductors or something.

[Turbineguy]

23. In thermo class

somebody asked if we could run a steam turbine on air. Hey, good question. Why not? We fired up our slide rules and within a few minutes determined that we would need a really big steam turbine to drive the compressor to pump up the air for the air turbine. It was an interesting excercise.

[semillama]

5. Regardless of the viability of the propulsion system

that is one of the weirdest looking cars I've ever seen.

[Ian David]

9. Here's an idea: put a metal plate at the end of your driveway that...

... pushes down on an air pump every time a car drives over it.

And use that to compress the air in your car's tank at night.

[Romulox]

15. Can I interest you in a perpetual motion machine? nt

[Ian David]

20. It's not "perpetual motion." It's borrowing energy from other people's cars.

If every car used the same method, there would still be a net loss of energy in the system.

[NickB79]

16. I've lost count of how many times this pile is unloaded on the newsfeeds

For example, there were talking about rolling out compressed-air cars in France in 2002: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2281011.stm

And again in 2004: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6138972/

They were to go on sale in India by mid-2008: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4217016.html

Almost a year later, Tata Motors has pushed back the release date, but is still claiming it will release an air-powered car: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7243247.stm

If one were to believe the press releases, the world is already filled with air-powered cars.

[Kelvin Mace]

18. This story shows up about every three months...

We never see an actual production model that people can test.

[wtmusic]

19. Cold fusion really got a raw deal compared to this nonsense

15 minutes of fame, then gone. Totally unfair.

[Botany]

21. This car has been around for years

[Unca Jim]

22. Hmm...

The article says the car will get 106 mpg at 35 mph. It maybe weighs (based on the pictures) about 1000 pounds. Take a VW bug, replace the steel body panels with plastic, put a 150cc motorcycle motor in it, gear down the transmission, and you will get similar mileage and performance at similar speeds. It isn't magic and it's not some scam like a water/hydrogen generator. No First Law of Thermodynamics violations at all, just a different drive train and low speeds to bump up mileage.

What the compressed air or hydraulic drive train excels at, however, is worry-free regenerative breaking. As you slow down you simply compress air or fluid, adding to breaking power and regaining energy usually wasted by brakes. For stop and go traffic, that adds up quickly. That's why UPS is investing in hydraulic drive trains to improve their fleet efficiency.

Hell, why wait for this when you can buy a GEM electric car that'll give similar performance. They are made right here in the USA (Fargo, ND) and can be bought in nice condition used for $2000-5000. NEVs are legal in all 50 states, and electric cars offer the lowest emissions.


However, if you want a freeway capable car you're going to have to build your own electric or wait for the Volt. I have a 1964 VW Bug I converted and drive to work now, and I'm 4th in the state on the Volt waiting list! Electric is here to stay.

If I knew how to post pictures here I'd post a few of the bug...

[glitch]

27. Cool, and interesting. Thanks! nt

[johnaries]

24. Deja Vu - I remember this from the 70's. nt

[Gregorian]

26. Wrong.

Do a search on the previous posts on this subject, and you'll see why.

Compressed air is a battery. A very inefficient one.

[Terran]

28. Damn. I thought this was a piece about

solar-powered flying cars. Which we were supposed to have by now, damn it.

[BR_Parkway]

30. I don't ever want flying cars - the idiots have enough trouble on one plane

don't give them up and down to screw up while yakking on their cell phones, putting makeup on, eating, trying to change the diapers or reading the newspaper while driving.

[Terry in Austin]

29. Cool! ...but "car" keeps us inside the box

Probably the best thing about this vehicle is the fact that somebody's thinking about the basic problem of how we get around, whether it looks like a car or not. True, compressed air has its pluses and minuses -- as does electric.

But let's scratch the surface a little. In alt.transportation discussions, the very term "car" frames the issue in a particular way, and not necessarily a good one. "Electric car," for example, gives us the most restrictive set of expectations; "electric vehicle," less so; "zero-emission vehicle" even less, and on up to "appropriate transportation," which gives us the widest range in which to find a solution to the fossil-fueled, car-bound mess we find ourselves in.

It may be that the most viable outcome involves a shift in land use patterns and public infrastructure that make it unnecessary, or even burdensome, to own a two-ton, mile-a-minute Industrial Age artifact known as a "car." Who knows?

Getting to a cleaner, more sustainable world will take a lot of imagination, among other things, and the terms that we use to imagine with will very much affect the steps we take and their chances of success!