2009 Geneva Motor Show: MDI Compressed Air Car - Exclusive

[GaryVonGary]

One thing the interviewer didn't ask, and that is if any major oil company offered to buy out MDI for a substantial amount of money. I'm going to guess that they have but nobody will ever hear of that.

[fizzguts]

@GaryVonGary Why would anyone want to buy a hideously inefficient short range CON?

[accuracyRO]

Just sell me the engine. I'll adapt it to my car.

[fizzguts]

@accuracyRO Find a VERY light small car, Goggle GAST air motor they have 6hp motors or get one on Ebay, 20 dive tanks, one regulator, a bit of plumbing, some machining and you're off just like the air car. 5 mile range 20 mph top speed on the absolute flat. So as you can see anyone can do it.

Now why they would want to.

No idea.

[flip2mac]

Tata where is the car already?

[amigaurab]

fully faltoo

[yanikivanov]

amzing!

[sirlonghair]

in an accedent batterys spill and cause even more poulition

[sirlonghair]

please make it look better than some kind of Dr. Suse Whovill transport

[Charlieutube99]

The car was supposed to be going into production right around the March/April 2009 timeframe.

Then late 2009 was the production start date.

Then mid-2010.

The latest news report quotes Guy Negre as saying production will start in March 2011.

Any bets on whether production actually starts then ????

[OQUENDO1968]

How sad it is people are so quick to criticize, insult and tear down a new and innovative idea. It is still in it's infancy. This, to me is proof that we have the power and ability to do anything we put our mind to. It's unfortunate so many people are closed minded and stuck in old paradigms the produce nothing but the same old misery and misfortune for many of the Earths' Residence and Only benefit the rich. It's time to change our thinking. It's time to Wake up to the possibilities.

[fizzguts]

@OQUENDO1968 It's unfortunate so few people can be bothered to do 5 minutes research before posting drivel.,

OLD IDEA air cars date back to the 1890's Expansion motors have a 300year history.

There is NO magic bullet to make them 50 times better so you are stuck with the reality a 5 mile range.

But hey you believe in unicorns, lifting yourself to the moon by pulling on your boot laces and geese laying gold bars. NO PROBLEM Show me the evidence.

[lawnkit22]

Guy with the mic is a tard.

[amoringis]

Top speed of 40mph? Golf cart...maybe.

[joaquinveyron]

This air car is a good example for why French shouldn't occupy themselves with engineering and why journalists should not try to talk about engineering.

[simonhead666]

@joaquinveyron but these guys engineered F1 race cars.. I do agree with your statement about journalists though..

[joaquinveyron]

@simonhead666 So what (although I couldn't find any record of this guy as F1 engineer on the net)? And if he were the CHinese emperor, this wouldn't change that it is utter stupidity to power a car by compressed air. If u only understand the basics of thermodynamics, this is more than clear.

[simonhead666]

@joaquinveyron This is different than a concept car.. It drives, and is built in India.. sold in India. Concept cars are concepts of what the car might/or might not be...

I'm sorry that I don't understand thermodynamics.. you are clearly too smart for youtube... but if I wiki'd the subject i would in fact understand your nerd talk!!

good day to you kind sir

[joaquinveyron]

@simonhead666 Concept cars on motor shows have the big advantage that you can tell the journalists whatever u want, bcs they don t have a chance to actually test the car.

[simonhead666]

@joaquinveyron and Guy NEGRE is the inventor of a 12 cylinder engine that was used in F1 back in 1989.. I just googled his name and found a wiki on him and other sites.. if u only understood search engines on the internet.. THAT would be more than clear..

[joaquinveyron]

@simonhead666 I give a f&&king shit what the Guy guy invented or not. Compressed air engines are the epitome of idiocy. That s what u understand if u only understand the minimum of thermodynamics. To compress air a very high rate of the energy u need to put in, is dissipated as heat. . And where does the energy come from to compress the air? From a power plant. Brilliant!

[simonhead666]

@joaquinveyron dude, you gotta relax!!

thermodynamics? you must a total blast to party with!!! 'sarcasm'

[joaquinveyron]

@simonhead666 I give a shit. Feel free to waste your little money on this frenchie wannabe engineer dipshit.

[simonhead666]

@joaquinveyron Relax brother. Get outside and throw a ball around!! Thermodynamics will NOT get u laid!!

[joaquinveyron]

@simonhead666 "Thermodynamics will NOT get u laid!!" Exactly. But my nice Porsche 911 GT3 does.

[simonhead666]

@joaquinveyron I call bullshit!!

[lassek85]

@joaquinveyron

Oh geez, you figured out something that none else has!

The car industry does not ammount to that much co2, but as long as the problem can be located individually there will be no political problem to the solution. By applying electric cars (which are alot more effective energy wise) or air cars will remove the problem that is created with the car - moving it to as you say the power plant.

[joaquinveyron]

@lassek85 "Oh geez, you figured out something that none else has!"

I am not sure whether you were being ironical here or not. The point is that far from removing a problem, you even emit more CO2, since a huge amount of energy is lost for compressing the air in the first place, as dissipated heat.

[lassek85]

@joaquinveyron

You completely missed the point i were making (& yes it was irony), "everyone" that isnt a child, or very ignorant realises what you stated as "new" facts.

The thing is that its not the main problem from a deeper perspective, its a political way of applying the norms within the community to apply to corps - aka you remove the pressure from the public to the market which creates a larger shift in progress regarding the matter - companies depend on different norms within society.

[sirlonghair]

@joaquinveyron what if the compressor is running off free power water turbine solar panals... but we need to harness that heat wasted you mentioned I saw a genorator that ran off cow dung or just about anything you could put in it enouph for a home and they also invented a water purifyer that literly stacked on top of it and ran off the wasted heat mabey get that purifyer and run it off the compressors heat

[joaquinveyron]

@sirlonghair "what if the compressor is running off free power water turbine solar panals."

Regenerative or nuclear forms of energy are first of all, costly, and secondly, not free of environmental impact/pollution.

If you want to run a car on renewable energy, then you would run your car on electricity stored in a battery, which is not the last word of technology, since batteries only have a energy density of ca. 180 WH per kg, which nevertheless is miles better than compressed air.

[sirlonghair]

@joaquinveyron but the manufacture of batterys is in itselfe full of polution and the wear out and need to be replaced (ie. more polution)mining and manufacturing are polution also allong with byproducts of thos opperations

[tufeanualexandru]

the guy with the microphone is a complete retard

[cortezforever]

Nope it's still garbage if it's not 100% powered by air.

[spencertron88]

@cortezforever the only that would work is with a ramjet. Air in itself is not a perpetual motion machine. You need something else to compress it. Its simply stored potential energy.

[bartley440]

Just ride a bike.............

[lumsdot]

i am not sure 200km range is really achievable with such a small tank,compressed air cars are renowned for having a short range.

[daswada9]

@lumsdot even its just 70km you just need Compressed air that is free !!!

[fizzguts]

@daswada9 Really so you get your 3500psi dive tanks filled for free! This piece of crap with its actual range 7km has the equivalent volume of 12 dive tanks. May I watch when you ask the dive shop owner to fill it for free? I'm interested to see how far you travel when you get thrown out of the shop.

[petro440]

I called MDI about purchasing an air car that was supposed to be out last year. Some of the comments here are right on. They keep promising but not delivering. As far as I'm concerned. MDI are scamming investors. Can't you be honest about how slow your progress has been?

[muleywatcher]

I would be very afraid to take it on the freeway!

[inventorisac]

MIRE

[KRauSLoCo]

Please don`t be afraid, go for it!!

[POVELITELY]

suki kogda uge/ Ha4hut Prodavaty/

[HomeJobPC]

Ima gonna say maybe next year :-p

[Charlieutube99]

MDI announced in 2000 that they would go into production in 2001. Almost every year since then, they have announced production "next year".

They have never delivered a car, but have done well at selling franchises and raising investment money.

They have lots of videos of cars putt putting around their parking lot at slow speed, but never let independent journalists test their cars.

The only test MDI published showed their car running out of air in 7.22km/5 miles.

[DeanMartin64]

I was optimistic at first but as I followed for YEARS I don't see a product ready. So far I just see some light weight fiberglass frame on bicycle tires. How disappointing !

[yanikivanov]

@DeanMartin64 you looking at future car buddy! can you make something better? well try you ford pickup truk

[mfredsten3652]

great

hope it goes well

[EnigmaNZ1]

Silly looking car. If they can make a air powered Tatra Nano, kewl.

[Charles2337]

Air powered smart car.