The 'Air Car' a Vehicle that Delivers 100 MPG

Hey everyone, I'm Elizabeth Chambers and you're watching LivingGreenChannel.Com, your source for living an eco-friendly lifestyle. Prices at the gas pumps are still frustratingly high, and many car makers are looking for the next design break through that will deliver the most miles per gallon. French Car engineering firm MDI may have just found the solution that trumps hybrids, electric vehicles, and even bio fuel... cars fuled by air! MDI's system, designed by a former race car engineer, uses compressed air the same way that a locomotive uses steam to power the pistons in an engine. Unbelievably, the company claims their car can get an outrageous 106 miles per gallon using the technology. American car maker Zero Pollution Motors is the first US company to make a deal with MDI to produce the cars, and they have promised to put out a model by 2010 that will have a sticker price of less than 18,000 dollars. The planned American model would seat six, have a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour, and could travel up to 800 miles between fill ups. The car would still need some conventional fuel, using an internal combustion system that would heat the compressed air when the car was driv Distributed by Tubemogul.

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[joaquinveyron]

What is a stupid concept remains a stupid concept. Compressed air the worst and least efficient carrier of energy. To store 14.3 kWh @300 bar in 300 l (90 m3 @ 1 bar) reservoirs, you need at least 93 kWh on the compressor side (with an optimum compressor working on the ideal adiabatic limit and assuming a 100% efficiency, which is not in practice. Most of the energy is dissipated as heat). 14 kWh is a bit more than 1 l of gasoline. So this Negre guy is either stupid or criminal.

[joaquinveyron]

The only good think about this video is the woman presenting it. Apart from that it is a good example for why French shouldn't occupy themselves with engineering and why women should not try to talk about engineering. (but I know there are many men as well who talk without thinking).

[czg2012]

100 miles per gallon---of air, really?

[Lokivoid]

miles per gallon...... Do you have any idea how much energy it would take to compress a gallon of air to a liquid state? Honestly the "greenist" thing you could do at the moment is restore or reuse a older vehicle. Becuse production of a new vehicle (prius included) generates x10 more emissions just from the production than the old vehicle would generate in a lifetime of use. Its better to salvage and reuse the old rather than making a newer more effienct one from scratch.

[poplug]

it's funny how there have been gasoline engines around for a while that deliver more horsepower and higher MPG.

Are they practical transportation?

No, but more practical than this.

[fizzguts]

@unclemikeb Yeah right . The actual range of 5 miles will be a winner. NOT!

[unclemikeb]

This would be an effective vehicle to use in areas that are plagued by smog. They still need to consume energy from an outside source to initially charge the air storage tank but it would not cause the vehicle to pollute in the congested areas. I don't see it replacing regular vehicles all together but it might very well have its niche market.

[Cotronixco]

@rickcain2320 Are you out of your mind? Gasoline is cheaper than electricity 96% of the time. And you're telling me that the price of coal will never increase? Gasoline produces 33.6kWh/gallon. Do the math.

[rickcain2320]

@Cotronixco

Coal power plants are far more efficient than gasoline engines, so even with line losses transporting electricity to the air pump, it still is much better than a gas engine which wastes the majority of the fuel's energy as heat.

[rickcain2320]

@joaquinveyron

You are assuming the 1L of gasoline has100% efficiency in an ICE engine, which it is not of course. Its more like 10% efficiency.

[donsjuand]

The question is, what powers the steam production? What fuel source? What are the impacts using such fuel? What are the alternatives?