Sunday February 19, 2012, 10:55 am
Refilling the automobile will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately 2 dollars (1.5 Euros), the car will be ready to go another 125-175 miles (200-300

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7241909.stm

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/mar2007/bw20070319_949435.htm?campaign_id=rss_topDiscussed

The History of Compressed Air Vehicles

http://www.aircarfactories.com/air-cars/compressed-air-history.html

Sunday February 19, 2012, 10:56 am
NOTE: "The first recorded compressed-air vehicle in France was built by the Frenchmen Andraud and Tessie of Motay in 1838. A car ran on a test track at Chaillot on the 9th July 1840, and worked well, but the idea was not pursued further. Nantes locomotive

In 1872 the Mekarski air engine was used for street transit, consisting of a single-stage engine. It represented an extremely important advance in terms of pneumatic engines, due to its forward thinking use of thermodynamics, ensuring that the air was heated, by passing it through tanks of boiling water, also increasing its range between fill-ups. Numerous locomotives were manufactured and a number of regular lines were even opened up (the first in Nantes in 1879)." More at link... The History of Compressed Air Vehicles

http://www.aircarfactories.com/air-cars/compressed-air-history.html

Sunday February 19, 2012, 11:48 am
noted, thanks !

Sunday February 19, 2012, 12:05 pm
wow

Sunday February 19, 2012, 12:08 pm
And it is, based on conventional auto aesthetics, as ugly as an unwelcome wart. The aesthetic problem with such vehicles is that they have so little power; therefore, they must be as compact as possible with no consideration given to style. The other problem is that they have so short a range that they are useful pretty much only as urban grocery getters.

Pre-production estimates of range, etc. ALWAYS exaggerated. The Prius was supposed to get 60+ MPG. It did not. The Civic hybrid's claims have brought a ton of lawsuits for false advertising down on Honda. The Tesla's 250 mile range turns out to be less than 200 if driven VERY unroadsterishly and only about 110 if driven at freeway speeds and like a sprots car. The Volt was supposed to go 60 miles on pure electric but only gets about 35 - 40 in the hands of real drivers in the real world before the extended range generator kicks in. At this point the Volt is still the most versatile partial replacement for a conventional internal cumbustion engined car.

All alternative propulsion sources come with their own downsides and compromises. Water is rapidly becoming in ever shorter supply, especially in the sunbelt. Soils are being rapidly depleted of nutrients due to industrial farming. Rainforests cannot stand any more deforestation. Oil is probably past it peak extractibility. Natural gas is unsuitable for passenger vehicles at this time due to the limitations of on-board storage technology, and its new extraction technology -- fracking -- is proving to be a grotesque catastrophe. Solar is still difficult to store and slowly release from batteries, especially at night.

New technologies are always being developed. Some will prove to be wonderful, most will prove to be commercially unsuitable at a particular time. Most will take decades to be useful given where we live and how we want to use them. Decades of research on the most promising will get a few to the point of usefulness.

In the meantime the best solution for many is to use personal transportation as carefully as possible. Use the most efficient vehicle that fits your needs. Someone commuting to work 25 or 35 miles each way and running errands on the weekends might need, at most, a small hatchback or a wagon. Someone ferrying a soccer, baseball or swimming team two or four times a week or with a large family might need a minivan. Someone going skiing in the mountains probably needs an AWD wagon/hatchback or a sedan with folding rear seats. (I ski every winter, and drive to almost all of my destinations, sometimes up to the top of the mountain if the roads go there. I have NEVER used/owned an SUV. I have never become stuck. Most of the time I have driven RWD cars. 4WD is rarely really required by anyone.) Some folks need a pickup for work and others who live on a farm or ranch also need a pickup. Almost no one else needs one. Some folks like to play in the mud; they do need an SUV or a 4WD pickup as a toy. Almost no one needs an SUV. They do not need it for running to the store or commuting. Most special purpose vehicles should be rented for a week or a weekend instead of purchased for full time use. An unmodified SUV or pickup occasionally used in mudfields and unmaintained mountain roads is a huge waste of money if you buy the thing. Rent it instead those few weekends you go out to play. Buying a pickup to haul junk to the dump two or three times a year is a collosal waste; rent one for a day or two here and there.

Conservation is always the best thing we can do at the present, whenever that present is. Combining trips to 3 or 6 different stores into one trip is always better and cheaper. Finding the best compromise in a vehicle for your MOST FREQUENT uses is always better, cheaper and less wasteful.

By all means keep an eye out for new and promising technologies. Just don't hold your breath waiting for them to show up at your neighborhood showroom or supermarket anytime soon.

BTW it is an interesting phenomenon that the very best technologies for a given product always appear long after a quality product is popularly obsolete. Take a look at modern LPs and record turntables. They were never this good when everyone used them. I expect that the same will be the case with internal combustion engined automobiles. 50 years from now sports cars will likely emit no pullutants and get 120+ MPG, but only a few diehards will be driving them. The vehicles won't be all that much more expensive than they are today (although, a few really exotic ones will be), but gas will cost $50.00 or more a gallon and few refineries will make gasoline any more.

Sunday February 19, 2012, 12:12 pm
Whatdoya know! Thanks!

Sunday February 19, 2012, 12:22 pm
> has zero pollution
sure, because an unlimited supply of compressed air is beamed into it's tank by friendly aliens who arrived in Earth orbit yesterday afernoon; and the car itself is built of 100% organically-grown fair-traded/transported --err, oops, no: that'd still require (mostly fossil) fuels, NOT-traded, but provided by helpful fairies or above mentioned friendly aliens-- materials ... .. . .. ...

KEEP COBNSUMING, BUY MORE CARS -- MIRACLE CURES by the dozend are JUST AROUND THE CORNER; everything is fine !

Sunday February 19, 2012, 4:47 pm
thanks for sharing

Monday February 20, 2012, 10:51 am
noted, thanks Barbara

Monday February 20, 2012, 12:47 pm
Interesting! Thanks for posting.

Monday February 20, 2012, 2:11 pm
I would buy one! That's cool!

Monday February 20, 2012, 2:37 pm
noted thank you

Monday February 20, 2012, 3:22 pm
It's a cute little thing, and sounds good. I hope someone follows through with the idea.

Monday February 20, 2012, 7:00 pm
what a great article.
what will we humans think of next,it s a fantastic idea but so many people do not fully understand the force they are some-times holding in their hands ,and the respect that they should give it.
when i saw this article it brought straight to mind vehicles powered by other means and even though i wanted to leave my comment on this page i did feel it to be a little long and also i wished to use clickable links
but i have given full credit to the author of the above article for bringing the subject back into my mind
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/3107673

Monday February 20, 2012, 7:01 pm
Wow I think all members of Congress {especially Republicans} and all Republicans running for any office could use one of these cars and they would never run out of HOT AIR.

Monday February 20, 2012, 8:15 pm
Thanks Barbara.

As you can tell from the comments, and posibly other research, cars can run of virtually anything.

Monday February 20, 2012, 8:48 pm
HOPE IT HAPPENS SOON

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 4:58 am
Very cool technology. Can't beat the price. Does it have to be so ugly though?

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 5:49 am
One person's "ugly" is another's idea of attractive. I like the look and would love to be seen riding around in one of thes little darlings. I have yet to see one nearly as ugly as the Hummer or the Aztek.
Yes, it is true that such ideas have been tried and used in the past, but because they were not markedted by big business they were not successful. It's time that we, the consumers, demand more efficiency and less polution. The best way to do this is to speak out, and to use our money to buy the best possible technology.
Just because it's always been done that way is NEVER a good reason to continue any action.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 10:55 am
I want one now!! :)

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 12:13 pm
I want one too ! shared : )

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 2:51 pm
O what will the aliens think of next to tell us? But wait, they told us a long time ago but we figured there was no profit in air. Do I hear interplanetary laughter? What scamps!!!

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 3:40 pm
noted tanks

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 5:09 pm
interesting.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 6:15 pm
This is really neat! I would love to have a car like this! I think it looks cute and very futuristic! Bye-bye rising oil and gasoline costs! :)

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 9:14 pm
I wonder how noisy the engine is. The engine will need shielding to prevent noise. The creator claims the car emits zero pollution. However, the car does need lubricating fluids. Is there such a product as soy oil to replace petroleum lubrication?

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 1:56 am
I want one now!

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 2:53 am
I wish my Beamer would run on air but NOT. Thanks Barbara.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 4:20 am
Thanks for the article.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 6:59 am
Impressive! Hope they become available soon.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 7:15 am
The design will improve I am sure, in the meant time I would love one!!!! Save the planet and same our money.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 8:43 am
Oh, this is good. Now we're getting somewhere. Thanks very much for posting this.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 10:07 am
People have always come up with new ideas and great innovations that don't pan out. We need to create a more focused demand for these products. Too many well-to-do people continue to purchase automobiles based on looks, style and status. More people need to use public transportation and car pool and refuse to purchase vehicles that are harmful and deplete our natural resources. This is very difficult for the average person because of work, school, children, etc...I feel that if individual communities worked together to promote car pooling where public transportation is unavailable, the auto industry would feel the crunch and put more money into the development of cars like this.

Thursday February 23, 2012, 1:21 am
It would be nice to have one :)

Monday March 5, 2012, 12:03 am
I only hope this will come to the United States, but I doubt Big Oil would allow that.

Monday March 12, 2012, 9:06 pm
Price is right - They should start to manufacture NOW - Save our planet !!!