EcoGeek

Air-powered cars in America by 2010


This week certainly has been a good one for MDI, the company that first decided it was possible to run a car on compressed air. First, it announces that Tata Motors has invested $30M to get the cars on the road in India and Europe this year, and now, its comin' to America!

The cars run off air that is compressed into a extremely strong tank. The air is then slowly released, driving an engine that can propel the American version of the car up to 95 MPH. The American distributors, Zero Pollution Motors, already has its price set ($17,800) and a design (seen above).

This also comes with a new bit of news about the air car's propulsion system. The air tank can only hold so much air, right, so how do they extend the range and power for the American market? Well ... what does air do when it's heated? It expands! So MDI has developed a way for the car to get a range of over 800 miles.

A small petrol engine heats the air, providing the extra energy necessary to get the car up to 95 MPH and more than triples the vehicle's range. So, indeed, you will have to fill up both a gasoline tank and an air tank to get the car to work.

The bad news is that it takes about an hour to fill the air tank. But, theoretically, the car could come with an at-home charger, since being parked at a gas station for an hour-long fill-up would be pretty horrible. The other bad news is that you'll be burning gasoline ... which kinda defeats the purpose, right?

Well, not if the car gets an effective 106 mpg when traveling above 35 MPG and doesn't use a drop of gas when going slower than that.

Sounds to me like a pretty good compromise for bringing this otherwise not-very-suited-for-the-American-lifestyle car to America.

Via Auto Blog Green and BusinessGreen

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comments from our community

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  • Posted by Gandalf the mage Sat Jan 3, 2009 1:05pm PST
    4000 psi in an accident. If our fine government allows this time bomb on our roads, The big three should sue the pants off washington. Safety rules and regs & cafe have helped the big three's swift sink into the mud. Im not excluding inept managment for not allowing the union to go on strike. They signed non forward looking contracts and help drag the knife across their own throat.
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  • Posted by cooter j Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:58am PST
    well what will people do with that thing in the heavy winter states....what a joke....LOL
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  • Posted by rickyd1937 Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:50am PST
    put the car in the houses of parlimentask labour politicians to blow in the tank. their full of hot air
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  • Posted by nicholasgalloway Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:02pm PDT
    That's right shot the frightening emerging technology before is can grow! We all know that steam powered cars are less efficient then gas powered cars right? Wrong! Coal, diesel, & nuclear power plaints are really steam powered! America once stood for innovation and there is a lot of room for different cars and car propulsion systems. Don't let others stifle our innovations! The invention and manipulation of TV has set us back by 20 years. If the air powered car works GM & Ford will make air powered cars too. This air powered car that can go 150 miles on a single fill-up Works. Now the extra 650 miles has American oil interest shaking in their collective boots. Our US economy is still, at its base, a petroleum based economy. That is why you hear our President (Mr.Obama) say we need to develop a new green economy. If Air, electric, water/hydrogen, or solar cars work then how much are our billions of gallons in oil reserves worth? Did you know that Lemon Brother (the investment company) bought and held millions of gallons of gas back when the price of gas went sky high. We should not limit the flow of our economy and the movement of our population to a product that we have no control over!
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  • Posted by ballingww Fri May 8, 2009 3:58pm PDT
    Absolutle we all aren't stupid just being broad sided by the oil industry. Lets see big oil says are refinerise are at capacity so we need to raise prices- take 2 are refineries need to reduce capacity because the public isn't using enough fuel. ===PROFIT===PROFIT===AND MORE PROFIT.Sure wish are new president could call out a national emergncy and freeze these guys out for a while.
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