AutoblogGreen

The EU is gonna have a heck of a time figuring out a way to tax compressed air.

;)

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Answer to Dave [1], Road taxes will likely be collected using quarterly odometer readings.

A fair method because it relates exactly to degree of roadways use.
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Heaven on earth is just around the corner for us ** poor boys**.

Cars coming soon from Tata Motors and competitors in China for 3K to 6K with no need of gasoline or diesel gold expenditures.

And a great new modern laptop to go with it for only $299 to $499 . . .


http://tinyurl.com/2zt7et

Excellent find!

This is the avenue to shake free of the ponderous MS Windows stranglehold!

Asus motherboards have earned our respect over the long term.. now they provide a sort of freedom. NICE!

The article ends up with . . .

** Now rumors are circulating that a new Intel
Merom-based ASUS Eee PC that may ship as early as April will run so efficiently that it won't need a fan. The entire laptop will be solid state -- no moving parts. Intel loves that kind of thing.

There's no question about it -- Asustek is the most hated company in the industry.

Microsoft, Apple, Dell and Palm hate Asustek because the company can give us something they can't: A super cheap, flexible, powerful mobile computer. At $299, why would anyone not buy one?
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= TG

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Does an Air Car need air bags ;-)

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The propulsion technology could prove a godsend for developing countries like India that are at the cusp of progressing from two-wheeled to four-wheeled vehicles. The latter are safer and more comfortable in the rain but also require more fuel and more space to drive and park.

Governments may therefore have to start reserving lanes for powered rikshas and jitneys (share cabs) just to avoid complete gridlock in their inner cities. Running on compressed air would eliminate the serious air quality problems associated with diesels and two-stroke gasoline engines. Acceleration and top speed are secondary considerations when traffic is moving very slowly anyhow.

The multi-stage compressors and intercoolers could be powered electrically or, by an ICE running on natural or biogas. Note that the compressed air is stored in composite tanks at moderate temperatures and reaches temperatures well below ambient at the end of the thermodynamic cycle. This can be exploited for air conditioning a quiet, closed passenger compartment while the vehicle is moving. An additional latent cold store (aka block of ice) may be used to buffer the cold energy and sustain A/C for up to a minute whenever the vehicle has to stop.

However, however good the soundproofing inside, compressed air engines do still emit a lot more exterior noise than four-stroke ICEs. Indeed, this alone may prevent the technology from gaining significant market share in Europe, where noise emissions from four-wheelers are subject to regulations. Btw, the di Pietro rotary air motor from Australia may perform better in this respect than MDI's conventional piston-based design.

http://www.engineair.com.au/airmotor.htm

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Having been to India, complete gridlock is already in full effect. I can't imagine how much worse the traffic will be when Indians start buying cars in greater numbers. The infrastructure of the country is terrible.

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I can't wait for corporate america to embrace this one. "Now available in the U.S." is an expression you will grow old waiting to hear.

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I have five dollars bet that this will never come to the USA. Greed and Gluttony will keep it away.

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Those specs sound incorrect to me.

Looked more like 30mph topspeed, and a 90 mile range.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3526
http://anz.theoildrum.com/node/3388

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A lot of cheapskates are getting excited, thinking that they can just fill up at any gas station tire air pump for free, but they don't realize that the standard air compressors only go to 150 psi, and the air car needs 4,500 psi. Yep, a really expensive special compressor is needed, and there will be a substantial charge to refill.

As for performance, this vehicle could go 124 miles on a single fillup, or go 68 mph, but not both. The efficiency and range drops significantly at higher speeds.

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I created CATvolution.com for people who want to help bring these cars to North America. It's a low-key site for volunteers to spread the Air Car word.

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