You have to see this! The answer to our oil problems!!!

[napi21]

http://www.theaircar.com/models.html

This car is powered by compressed air alone! It is already being produced in France!

[pinkpops]

1. Air compressed by pumps powered by what?

[napi21]

4. An access cable is plugged into an electrical outlet (presumably at your house).

The starter runs the onboard air compressor to recharge the tanks. They can also be recharged via a pump at a service station like facility.

[havocmom]

11. So, the car really runs on electricity?

So long as the electricity is produced by wind or solar, we have a winner.

[napi21]

13. No. The car runs on compressed air. The tanks are refueled

via electricity.

[Selatius]

14. The electricity in France is generated by 75% nuclear power.

Ultimately, that power must be assumed to be an input into the equation. The car doesn't directly run on electricity. That is true; however, neither can it exist without an electric grid to re-pump the tanks full of air. The question then is what forms of energy does the electric grid utilize?

[NuttyFluffers]

20. i want my electricity from neo-con criminals running on hamster wheels!

pretty please! i'll even pay a bit of a premium! ooh ooh ooh, and a livecam of them running! "run Gonzo, run! run to power my CFL bulbs and green friendly car! Mwa ha ha ha!"

[pinkpops]

22. Neocon criminals have to run on something. What will we feed them?

[havocmom]

25. The shit they have been feeding us

[NuttyFluffers]

27. feeding them their own shit... i think you discovered the perpetual motion machine n/t

:rofl:

[havocmom]

24. So the cars go nowhere without electricity

Solar or wind generated juice would be a real help. But it takes juice and in too many places, that still means fossil or nuke.

[Catch22Dem]

2. I've been following the air car for about 5 years now...

Very intriguing. I don't know about it being the answer to all our oil problems. I'm afraid that solution will have to come in the form of a vehicle that will satisfy their perceived need for something the size of an Expedition or Tahoe. Plain and simple.

[IDemo]

3. Compressed air is not the source of power

The air must be very highly compressed, which takes a significant amount of electrical energy. It remains to be seen whether compressed air serves as a better energy storage system than simply using the electricity to charge batteries directly.

[napi21]

7. Maybe, but it sure sounds like a far less expensive transportation

vehicle.

[pinkpops]

8. Like "hydrogen power" the ultimate source of energy would have to be

gas, coal, nuclear, solar,wind,chicken manure....

[NuttyFluffers]

21. ... or Bush Family Evil Empire on prison treadmills at the Hague.

we can dream, can't we?

[Ezlivin]

5. If we could get one to run off of hot air...

Rimshot.

[Basileus Basileon]

6. If they can demonstrate that compressed air is more efficient than a battery, great.

Otherwise, I'll stick with hoping for an electric car.

[pinkpops]

26. Link to new storage technology - "ultra capacitors"

fast charging, but still in development...

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/jun2006/bw20060629_505781.htm

[BadgerKid]

9. Filling up might be 66-233% more often

according to my proverbial back-of-the-envelope calculation.

[Disturbed]

10. Oil is still needed for a whole lot, other than vehicles.

In ten years there might be a breakthrough.

[BadgerKid]

15. Sure; I'm just thinking about the behavior modification

aspect (of course there are other important aspects). Some of us have already adjusted our routines, more probably would/could, and for sure some won't unless forced to.

[napi21]

12. So what if the fill up is via plug it in.

Yes I am aware that power plants use fossil fuel but if this can eliminate the use of gasoline to power cars, we'd be a lot ahead of where wwe are now. We do still pump oil here in the US, andmost likely could pump enough to fuel the power plants. There is more research to be done for sure, but if we can get off the teat of Arab oil, it's a BIG step in the right direction!

[boobooday]

16. It says it charges in THREE MINUTES

That's some crazy shit!

Cool find.

[napi21]

18. I thought it was too! My son told me about this, and he said

they can't offer it in the US for several years because of the many regulations, but it's supposed to be mass produced in France and available all over Europe next year. I guess they're working with the US regulators on the requirements for here.

I know I sure would be happy to pay more for a car if refueling it was next to nothing!

[Redstone]

17. What fuel is used to generate the elecricity to run the air compressor? (There's no free lunch.)

Redstone

[napi21]

19. I suspect it would require less fuel to power the electeic power plants

than it does to power the millions of cars on the roads every day. I didn't say it would eliminate the need for oil completely, but if we could eliminate the need for IMPORTED OIL there would be time to research other means of production.

[Dukkha]

23. so am I

*FART*