TREE huggers and those who lament the use or abuse of non-renewable resources, especially in the generation of energy and power, should take a long hard look at the proposed technology that is being touted by Motor Development Inc. founder Guy Negre and his manufacturer of choice, Tata Motors.
Yes, the same Tata Motors that has dared to bring forth the $2,500 car — while purchasing high-end Jaguar and Land Rover from a sputtering Ford Motor Company. The car invented by Mr. Negre is powered by compressed air. A full load of compressed air that can presumably be available in many or most gas stations takes only a few minutes to load and will take the prototype car a full 125 miles (200 km).
Now one has to take a long hard look at the Indian market and realize just how practical they are about their cars. The Maruti car company manufactures a local version of the Suzuki Alto which has a minuscule 800cc engine. This car may seat four or a maximum of five people anywhere else, but the intrepid Indians manage to shoehorn seven people in there! Imagine what they will do to a car designed for seven, as the first proposed model of the air car will do since it is supposed to perform yeoman’s chores as an everyday taxi.
The first model is to be named the CityCat and will cost about $12,500 — roughly the cost of a Corolla in most countries. It will run at a maximum speed of 68 mph (almost 110 kph) — just enough to stay within most speed limits, but putting a damper on the speed demons out there — which should get one from point A to point B in good time.
Now, this is probably the best idea for a practical car there is today. It will not spew any dangerous fumes or probably create a large carbon footprint. And air is available anywhere at a pittance compared to either the stratosphere-riding cost of gasoline and other alternative fuels. Until a viable solar powered car comes along, this will be the technology to beat.
Read about this amazing technology in the following threads.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_car
http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/mar2007/bw20070319_949435.htm?campaign_id=rss_topDiscussed
June 27th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Actually, it is a given that some source of power must exist to be able to generate what is needed to “create” compressed air. Short of going nuclear, this is still a viable alternative to burning fossil fuels direct from the pump. At least, with many cars running on compressed air, less fuel will be required as a whole for a nation’s given needs, thus, reducing dependence on imported or domestically generated oil or coal. Imagine this scenario: Wind and Tide generated power providing electricity for an electric grid, and compressed air-powered cars getting juice from these sources!
June 27th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
An electrically powered car with compressed air as power backup will be an excellent idea.
The electricity to charge the batteries and compress the air will be derived from geothermal source that the Philippines has an abundance of.
How is the electric powered jeepneys doing in Makati and Bacolod ? Once that lithium ion battery is perfected, those fumes will be minimized !
June 27th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Energy is required to compress air. If electricity is used to compress air, then it may be more expensive since oil or coal is consumed by electric power plants. Theoretically, it’s more expensive to use hydrogen or compressed air as fuel since extra energy is required to produce these fuel sources, and energy comes from fuel oil or electricity(which comes from use of fuel oil in power plant). Until this electricity becomes cheaper by the combined use of solar, hydro, and wind, the use of alternative fuel from compressed air or hydrogen(needs electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen in water) is not economical.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Nice! This is an alternative choice for those who want to save on gas but dont want to but those expensive hybrids. It’s the solution to our gas problems… Now what happened to the Pinoy who built a car that runs on electricity anyway? I hope his invention will hit the Market soon!