The Air Car by MDI can save our planet

[HEC]

That's right. A car that uses air as it's fuel source. No wars over oil, oil tanker disasters, air pollution or global warming would occur as a result of everyone converting to driving an 'Air Car'. No, It's not a dream, and you can order one on-line already. The car will come into full production in 2006. Since it runs on compressed air, it generates no CO2 emissions and has no harmful effects on the environment. Even the oil used for engine lubrication is your regular household vegetable oil that needs to be changed only every 50,000km. The compressed air the car requires to run on is stored in a tank similar to a liquid propane tank. Upon the driver pushing on the accelerator, the air is released into the engine where it becomes decompressed for the creation of kinetic energy, putting the car into motion. It then leaves the engine through the exhaust at 0 to -15 degrees celsius, therefore eliminating the need for a compressor or CFC gasses (An Ozone Destroyer) in order to provide a built in air conditioner. Since there are are no mechanical parts that suck their energy from the vehicle's engine, the Air Car's AC does not reduce engine power when turned on. The car's air tank can be filled at home by plugging a built in compressor into an electrical outlet, filling the tank in under 4 hours, with a cost of only $2 for the electricity needed for the compression. At an 'Air Station' it would only take 2-3 minutes to fill the tank. The cost would probalbly be around $2-3 for a full tank of fuel at only 1/10th of the cost of petrol. The energy needed to fill the tank with air is very minimal, when compared to the energy needed to run a conventional gasoline vehicle, and it can be provoded by the use of renewable (green) energy. The car can travel up to 110km/hour, and one can drive the car for a distance of up to 300km with a single tank of air, which is twice the distance for the most advanced elecrtical vehicle. Sure, it's not your typical race car, but if you are an urban dweller, what need do you have for high speeds. You simply need to get from point A to point B. It's perfect for the city. Imagine driving in rush hour traffic with no fumes to be inhaled. Cities could have much better air quality and all it's residents could enjoy a much higher quality of life.

The car comes in different sorts and sizes.

The 'MDI Air Car' official web site:
http://www.theaircar.com/index.html

Hoseo Environmental Club

[foxfire4321]

Neat Idea, but I'll wait to see how the productions models fair.

BTW, doesn't the production of compressed air require electricity... that would mean that most compressed air production would require cardon dioxide emissions from power plants (where pollution standards are more lax than cars). Not that I think this is a bad idea, just that the statement is a little prone to hyperbole.

[Andrew]

Well, I think that is pretty cool.

It may not be perfect, but at least it is a step in a positive direction.

Thanks for posting that.

[foxfire4321]

I think it is a great idea, I am just not an early adopter and as such will reserve my decision to buy until I see how they perform in the realworld urban environment, particularly here in the US.

[Andrew]

Yeah, it's a very different direction than the newer hybrid cars are going, which is more evolutionary than revolutionary, so we'll see...

[Richard]

Originally Posted by foxfire4321

Neat Idea, but I'll wait to see how the productions models fair.

BTW, doesn't the production of compressed air require electricity... that would mean that most compressed air production would require cardon dioxide emissions from power plants (where pollution standards are more lax than cars). Not that I think this is a bad idea, just that the statement is a little prone to hyperbole.

The energy needed to fill the tank with air is very minimal, when compared to the energy needed to run a conventional gasoline vehicle, and it can be provoded by the use of renewable (green) energy.

^^^Quote from the original post.

Not that this necessarily means that the energy to compress the air would actually come from renewables, only that it could do.

Personally I think the Air Car is a neat idea. Pity it looks like complete crap though. Can't see many image-conscious people buying one. They need to make a sports version!

[Andrew]

>> They need to make a sports version!

Yeah!

With a spoiler and racing stripes, and a V-8... Oops... wait nevermind.

[Richard]

Heh, well the ones on their webpage look like the kind of vehicle my milkman drives to work.

[foxfire4321]

Just make it look like I am not going to get squished by the Chevy Suburban beside me.

[HEC]

Everyone of you says good idea but. BUT!!! What the heck is BUT?

If we don't switch away from carbon based fuels, the human race won't be able to say the precious BUT word any more. Come on people stop making excuses. You call yourselves environmentalists?

Just visit the MID Air Car site and get a better idea before anyone says BUT. Check out the high resolution photos. The size of the car will fool you unless you see people beside it. The design is only a prototype so you can expect a much nicer design when it comes into production.

http://www.theaircar.com/

HEC