air car

i agree with Bob, the websites mentioned IF perpetuating a hoax have gone through a very eloborate scheme to do so.

they even fabricated vehicles just to take pictures of them???

i dont think so. i think this is real as this makes at least half a dozen different sources reporting the same thing. some of which have very good reputations for scientific reporting and fact reporting.

 

It's not moving significant amounts of pollution because it doesn't work beyond propelling their demonstrator a few miles. Those people are either well-meaning but ignorant, or they're trying to perpetrate a scam.

Please note that the lack of merit of this idea has nothing to do with the real and terrible dangers facing us caused by pollution, energy shortages and global warming. Delusions, no matter how well-intended, will only distract us from the hard work ahead of shifting away from a fossil-fuel economy while raising the standard of living for everyone on Earth.

 

1. Successful hoaxes are the ones that don't look like hoaxes.

2. Rich people can fixate on nutty ideas, too. Remember the "BioSphere Project"? They convinced a Texas billionaire to spend some $200 million on them before he wised up.

 

well considering that they have no money behind them and have gotten this far, i guess only time will tell.

at best they will be for a niche market anyway. the lack of range, comfort and size of vehicle dictates that they will not become mainstream.

 

This certainly looks like a fascinating method of energy storage. It would certainly be cleaner than lead-acid batteries and safer than kinetic batteries. Combined with 100% clean energy sources like solar and wind (and NOT hydro or nuclear), this kind of technology might really make a positive impact.

But I hope everyone realizes that this car is, at best, only 50% of the solution.

 

yes it might be 50% of the solution, but the key here is that it is a solution.

The Prius is a part of the solution, hydrogen is not, (at least not yet)

although the air car isnt the whole answer, at least it addresses the problem. that is better than any american car company is doing...

obtw... at last count, american car manufacturers built 25 models that get less than 15 mpg. they also built 13 models with a horsepower rating of greater than 350 HP.

its funny that when it comes to drugs, we dont allow people to make that individual choice of abstinence, but we do allow people to buy cars that go 150 mph and expect them to make the right choice. some would argue that drugs affect others beside the individual addict. well the last time i looked, there was simply too many people on the roads to do something dangerous or stupid and not be assured of not affecting some innocent bystander.

 

Dave: I guess I'm just a natural skeptic. Some people err on the side of gullibility. I prefer evidence. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," and when they claim to be able to propel a car for a penny a kilometer I am suspicious. Their reference to a non-existent newspaper that most of their site visitors will not check because of the language barrier, makes me more suspicious.

Perhaps the newspaper reference was an honest error. There is no national Spanish newspaper called "El Periodico" but there are a number of regional newspapers called "El Periodico de Catalunya," El Periodico Mediterraneo," etc., and a penny a kilometer is "only" a two-and-a-half-fold improvement over the Prius, which might be accomplished if the car is light enough (witness the mileage of a motorscooter) so perhaps I'm wrong.

I've got no problems with the concept of compressed-air storage, though I'm partial to battery storage, in part due to the characteristics of electric motors.

In the end, maybe all they've done is take the Prius hybrid concept, replace the battery & motors with compressed air, and strip it down to 1/3 the weight. They could get a penny a km without actually accomplishing anything!

But I sure won't be buying any of their stock!

 

Daniel,

Do a google search for "Moteur Developpment International" or "minicats" or use the inventors name "Guy Négre".

Whenever I do an google search on something I find not quite right, 99% of the time I find proof that it really is not right via google.

I can't find any evidence that this is a hoax and instead only find stronger and stronger evidence that it might be legit.

In addition, the car they had last year only went 7 (or was it 9) miles before dying. So far they say they have it up to about 70 miles at lower speeds, and they did that by making it lighter and lighter and by redesigning the engine multiple times.

So it still sounds legit to me. But the only way to know for sure is to fly to Nice.

Mark

 

well as much as i like the possible environmental impact of the aircar, i would never consider buying one even if it works just like they claim it does simply because it doesnt meet my needs.

but i can see it filling a role in several cities like London, Toyko, Rome, New York and others where congestion is so bad that speed isnt a factor and polution is out of control.

personally, i would have to question the safety factor as the vehicle doesnt look as if it could fair well in a collision with practically anything. that is why the air bags are all standard (they have 6) to boost their chances.

 

There's a lot of strange stuff there. They claim a 300 km range at 35 mph, but only a 60 mile range at highway speed. That's after taking 2.5 hours to fill the tank. They are apparently basing their cost per km estimate on filling the tank from a compressor, and presumably using the higher per-tank range. But if you need to use the gas engine (for extended range) then what's the cost and the pollution?

Now, their optimum economy is based on using electricity from the grid to run a compressor to fill the air tank, and then use a pneumatic motor to drive the car. Where's the advantage compared to using the same grid to charge a battery and electric motors to drive the car? And what happens to the economy if they once add the weight and safety features of a normal car? Put a shell around a motorscooter and you can get great mileage. Or take the Prius technology and put it on a 500-lb three-wheeler. But would that be a "technological breakthrough"?

I'm willing to admit that the project and the car apparently do exist, but it still sounds like a scam to attract investors to a project that has very little chance of paying off. (A la "The Producers")

Sorry for being negative, but I just don't believe this one is on the level. It looks to me like it's either a scam, or it's crackpots.

 

Wait a second. . . I hope you all realize that this air car is a "solution" the same way that hydrogen power is a "solution". They're both incredibly similar: a way to convert and store electrical power drawn from the main grid that can then be used to power a vehicle.

 

i would take the air car over the hydrogen car any day. at least the air car can be done reasonably cheaply. there are many ways to compress air, but electrolysis is the only way to get hydrogen and that takes a LOT OF POWER.

 

The air car seems capable of less storage than any other technology existing or proposed. 60 miles at highway speed on a full tank of 5,000 psi air. And that's a super-light-weight stripped-down car.

I'll tell you what I think makes sense: an electric hybrid using some kind of clean-burning external combustion engine, such as a Stirling-cycle engine, burning some kind of bio-fuel such as biodiesel or similar, and grid-rechargable using wind energy.

 

"Air car"???

What a disappointment. I thought someone had come up with a George Jetson-style flying car. Crap! :mrgreen:

 

flying car??

ok...

http://priuschat.com/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=774

 

Just wanted to say "right on Bob" to that one. I have never been able to undersatnd why our government and industry fight so hard to avoid doing the 'right thing', when doing the 'right thing' would improve the economy, the environment, and our future. If we had had tougher CAFE standards in this country 15 or 20 years ago, our trade deficit would be much smaller, the Prius would probably be made by Ford, and the Middle East would have a only fraction of the motivation or the means to promote terrorism.

 

that is just it... we had tougher CAFE standards less than 10 years ago, but the government was conned into removing the standards by the big 3.

CAFE originally had fleet mileage for cars at 42 mpg in 2000... obviously that didnt happen.

for a sad but eye-opening expose on the pathetic story of big business controlling the US government, check out this story...

On a crisp fall morning in 1993, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore walked side by side out of the West Wing of the White House, past the Rose Garden, and onto a small stage on the South Lawn. There, they greeted three of the most powerful business leaders in the world: the chief executive officers of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

Before dozens of dignitaries, the president announced that America was embarking on a technological venture as ambitious as any the nation had ever attempted.

Over the next 10 years, the U.S. government and the American auto industry would combine the full weight of their resources—billions of dollars, the best scientific minds and previously secret Cold War technologies—to build an invention simple in concept yet critical in importance: a family car that achieved 80 miles per gallon.

This “Supercar†not only would be a tremendous boon to the environment, reducing pollution and slowing global warming, but it also would cut the nation’s reliance on oil imports from the volatile Middle East and inject new life into a stagnating domestic auto industry.

In short, Supercar would make America a cleaner, safer and more prosperous place in which to live. “We do not have the choice to do nothing,†Clinton told the crowd.

But nine years after it was born in pomp and splendor, Supercar is dead.

The victim of bureaucratic turf wars, a hostile auto industry and self-serving politicians, the car that was supposed to change everything now stands as a sobering reminder of the forces arrayed against greater fuel efficiency and a cleaner environment.

this is a very long but compelling read. registration is required. if you want a feel-good article, dont read it. if you want an accurate picture of the big 3's true position on economy... read it. please...before you do, let the dog out and send the kids out to play. if anyone doesnt want to register, let me know, i copied the article years ago and i still have it here some wheres.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/special...special.special

 

Teeny Media Buzz regarding Air Car >>here

Edit: Let's see, 90 cubic meters of air compressed to 4,351 psi....CRIKEY! RUN AWAY!!!!