Friday, August 8, 2008

Cars that run on air?


This just in from CNN: "You've heard of hybrids, electric cars and vehicles that can run on vegetable oil. But of all the contenders in the quest to produce the ultimate fuel-efficient car, this could be the first one to let you say, "Fill it up with air." The compressed air car planned for the U.S. market would be a six-seater, a New York company says. That's the idea behind the compressed air car, a vehicle its backers say could achieve a fuel economy of 106 miles per gallon. Plenty of skepticism exists, but with many Americans trying to escape sticker shock at the gas pump, the concept is generating buzz. The technology has been the focus of MDI, a European company founded in 1991 by a French inventor and former race car engineer. New York-based Zero Pollution Motors is the first firm to obtain a license from MDI to produce the cars in the United States, pledging to deliver the first models in 2010 at a price tag of less than $18,000." Read the entire article here.

1 comment:

dmoriarty said...

silly for this type of car chassis technology to have to pass traditional crash tests. i imagine a future where crash test standards are based on range boundaries (city-peri-city, highway, dual, city-only, highway only, etc.)If regulations are put into place to limit vehicle types within certain boundaries, this car would be at home in lower-speed restricted urban areas or non-interstate highways. there is a need to encourage small cars only in cities, trucks only on highways and delivery vehicles in between. this way there would be less of a chance to have a truck colliding with one of these ultralight cars at 65 mph. just my two cents.