General Discussion
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Recently, Electric cars have caught the eye of manufacturers and investors who have started working towards this technology more aggressively. The drawback, currently, is that electric cars are too costly. But now comes a technology that might just change all that. A little car known as Airpod is the first commercial project of this technology; technology that runs the car on compressed air! Which means there will be zero percent emission level. And yes, it is cheap.
Airpods technology was originally created in France at Motor Development International, but after some time, it was bought by Tata Motors (an Indian car manufacturer). This technology is so far the most environmentally and economically friendly. Airpods tank holds about 175 liters of compressed air that can be filled at special stations (which are right now not available in many countries) or by activating the on-board electric motor to suck air in from the outside. The total cost of the car is $10,000 and it takes just a few pennies to refill the car cylinder or you can use the on-board electric motor pump. Right now, the car has no steering, rather it just has a joystick to control its movements. But in the future, design and the control will be worked on. Check out this short documentary by CNN on this technology.
http://realitypod.com/2012/09/the-tiny-car-that-runs-on-air/
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NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)KansDem
(28,498 posts)...maybe it's time to move on to the FartCar.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)Oh. Sweet. Jesus. I want one too. *FALLSOVERWITHTHEVAPORS*
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Makes a Boxer dog smell like a daisy in comparison.
tblue
(16,350 posts)Kinda cute actually. I want one too!
glowing
(12,233 posts)LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)would probably be painful for us older folks with arthritis.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)That car would be perfect for parking and driving alone in the big city. Maybe we could have dedicated freeway lanes for these tiny cars. That would encourage energy saving and better use of the limited parking space in big cities like LA.
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)Adorable...
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)That thing is going to be hot in the summer, it doesn't look like the windows roll down.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,336 posts)Plus, I hope it floats. Monsoons can turn the streets into canals.
Electric Monk
(13,869 posts)guardian
(2,282 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,336 posts)... until the battery dies.
No mention of a gas or diesel generator.
There must be a way to get more mileage ...
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)It sits way too close to the ground. A pothole would probably take it out. Can't drive it in snow, sleet or heavy rain.
Might be useful in one of those golf course gated communities.
sellitman
(11,606 posts)Pass.
bongbong
(5,436 posts)have been working on compressed air cars for a while now.
Compressed air has a lot of pros, and not a lot of cons, as far as powering portable devices (like cars). One of the worst cons is reflected in the perfect gas law, that is an inverse relationship between pressure & heat. Pressurizing a gas creates heat, which unless dealt with just becomes wasted.
Probably the best system to power cars is using flywheels, as the losses are tiniest with those, but bearing failure is a danger.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)but it's a cool idea and I hope they keep working on different non-gasoline technologies. Awesome.
randome
(34,845 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,336 posts)Are those portholes in the A-pillar? Or missile launch tube doors? Hmmmm
Anyway, not all his cars were Aston Martin:
lunatica
(53,410 posts)dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Had one for my '75 Beettle. Get behind some huge slow van and blow that thing, it was great.
Hun Joro
(666 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)working on a Air Car several years ago, liked it then and I still think it's a great concept.
eggplant
(3,911 posts)Unless you are planning on inflating it with your lungs, that energy comes from somewhere. Electricty? Well, that comes from somewhere, too.
reACTIONary
(5,770 posts)RC
(25,592 posts)Heh.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Still energy. Still has to be generated somehow. MIGHT be zero emission on the generation side, might not.
Android3.14
(5,402 posts)Heck, even the OP article is from September.
These guys have been promising the miraculous air car for freakin ever.
Guy Negre might have something, and the videos show that he has a vehicle that putt-putts along, but the distance is the clincher.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_car
immoderate
(20,885 posts)You can't compress enough air to go anywhere. You get a few miles from a car that size.
The air car has been around longer than the Web, surely longer than DU. And there's nothing on the roads. Every few months of so, someone posts about it here. You can't buy one or even test drive it.
Meanwhile, Google has put about a million miles on a self driving car, that is provisionally licensed in CA and NV.
--imm
ewagner
(18,964 posts)for urban transport.
Think of some of the possibilities!
ananda
(28,854 posts)Geez it's cute.
obxhead
(8,434 posts)on a regular basis. LOL
Great concept, but it needs to be on a road ready chassis for it to be of any use to the average driver.
Shankapotomus
(4,840 posts)It was supposed to be released in the states in 2010. It hasn't even been made anywhere yet.
You can buy a Sunnev now.
http://www.sunnev.com/
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)Come up with something with the same features and more normal-looking, and then we'll talk.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)lastlib
(23,191 posts)except the emissions would be toxic.......
Liberalynn
(7,549 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)... has enough explosive energy to propel the 150# operator sitting on the tank into orbit.
http://www2.worksafebc.com/portals/construction/miscellaneous.asp?reportid=33645&_from=construction.healthandsafetycentre.org
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)James48
(4,429 posts)and still no closer to reality.
Sorry, but it's a hoax.
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/compressed-air-car.shtml
progressoid
(49,961 posts)A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth.
While the viability of their use as a mass produced vehicle is unknown, these vehicles do exist.
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)a death trap to me.
I'm all for non internal combustion engine powered vehicles.
But that wouldn't last a minute in real traffic.
1monster
(11,012 posts)and I'm in!
The video had some models that were not mentioned that had steering wheels, four wheels, and extra passenger space... Are those larger (family) models of the air car?