Will Air Car get green light?

[mdmc]

Source: Times Herald Record

NEW PALTZ — It sounds like some kind of dream car: a car that runs primarily on compressed air, gets 100 miles to a gallon of fuel (be it gas, propane or biofuel), produces negligible pollution (and none at city speeds), can hit speeds of 90 mph, has four doors, seats six passengers and costs between $18,000 and $20,000.

http://images.recordonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TH&Date=20080331&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=803310339&Ref=AR&maxH=230&maxW=370&border=0&Q=80



Read more: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080331/NEWS/803310339

---

WiLdToWn!

[RufusEarl]

1. Welcome to the future, i could see owning one of these.

But living in the south, it must be equipped with air conditioning.

Peace!

[gorfle]

5. You get air conditioning for free!

When you decompress a gas, as you must do to run this compressed air engine, the air always cools down - substantially. So you should be able to get air conditioning as a by-product.

[Xithras]

78. Yes, but the rate of decompression must be fairly low.

In order to pull that kind of range, it must bleed off its pressure slowly. The lower the rate of pressure loss, the less effective the cooling would be.

A better solution might be the installation of some sort of PTO on the drive axles. It would lower mileage a little, but it would offer mechanical power to run everything from A/C to an electric generator.

[1monster]

38. I live in Florida and almost never use the AC. I just leave my windows down while

driving.

And I get at least 20 to 25 miles to the gallon of gas in a 1990 Astro Van...

After being in air conditioned rooms all day long, that sun warmed air feels good.

[IntravenousDemilo]

47. What's the point of living in the south and feeling like you're in the north?

I'd love it if OUR country had a semi-tropical area -- the hotter and more sweltering the better! And I'd feel damned happy if I didn't have to experience winter again (right now there's a mountain of snow five feet deep in my back yard and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere).

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I've been reading about them for some time

As has my husband. He says it is very feasible, and he's a master mechanic.

[SharonRB]

3. Cute!

Reminds me a little of my smart car that I should be getting delivered next week. Is this for real?

[slor]

8. Will you write a little review here of your SmartCar...

please? I have been looking into one myself, but I am disappointed with the MPG. TIA

[SharonRB]

18. Once I get it, I will post something

It got off the boat last Friday, and I should have it sometime next week.

There's a forum at http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums that I've joined. You can look around there for information. Lots of people have already gotten their cars, but there are also a lot of people who will be waiting for quite a while for theirs to arrive.

I think I'm going to be happy with the MPG -- it's twice as high as what I get from my Lexus currently.

[mopinko]

10. another request for a review.

not this year, but maybe next. i still can't believe we are not farther along on this.

[mdmc]

28. One of my dad's car buddies just got a smart car

My dad repairs cars for fun. One of his buds got a smart car but I haven't seen it yet.

When do you get your smart car?

[SharonRB]

36. Hopefully next week, but it could be a little later than that

w00t!

[mdmc]

80. is it here yet

:)

[davhill]

4. Does the 100 MPG

Include the fuel used to compress the air?

[mdmc]

29. I don't think so

not sure from the article.

[Orsino]

46. I *think* that's exactly what it includes.

The car contains a compressor, so I doubt that you're tied to air stations.

[fshrink]

6. Problem is, you have to compress air with... fuel.

Good idea though!

[Tyler Durden]

11. They sell a solar powered compressor to top the tank.

Plus seeing that there is no heat exchange or heat to dump, less loss per erg of input energy. More efficient.

[fshrink]

54. Am I wrong

in thinking that the energy spent to move the vehicle is equal to the energy stored? Can a solar-powered compressor really do that?

[Tyler Durden]

58. No you're not wrong, but the TRANSFER is the demon.

Energy transfer from Chemical base (crude oil, obtained, transported, stored) minus the energy to crack it (refine to gasoline, diesel, transport, stored) distribute, dispense, then burn (heat loss, engine inefficiency), well you see how this works.

Energy transfer from electrically generated pressure on the distribution site, directly to a non-heat engine using that pressure with no energy transformation/loss takes about 5 steps out, and the base efficiency of the engine is much higher.

These aren't the actual figures, but say you get a crude-horsepower ratio of about 15% with 85% loss (that's not exact but it's close) vs electricity-pressure-horsepower ratio of maybe 60% (which is low I think), well you see the initial savings.

[fshrink]

69. Got it. Thanks. Very cool.

[Up2Late]

7. This is fine and all, but WHERE the HELL is MY FLYING CAR!?!?

They said back in the 1950's that we'd all have Flying Cars by now! Where are they!?!:mad: :wtf:

Btw, I have the Elementary School Library book with the "Future Cars" in them and, to be fair, one of the was Nuclear powered too, so...

[jmondine]

12. Hover coversions will be readily available by 2015

Along with food hydrators and self drying jackets

[nvme]

16. Flying Car

Moller.com is the closest one to being ready. There are FAA issues and also traffic liscensing(for driver/pilot) also testing issues as well as catastrophic failure issues(ie loose engines while at 5k feet what do you do issues) R&D on this car alone has been going on for over 40 years. it is capable of verticle lift and flight but finding a testing site is also complicated. the website is fairly decent about the developments of the flying car.

[Lance_Boyle]

27. Moller's skycar has been "15 years away" for 20+ years.

Never gonna happen.

[sofa king]

53. Yeah, he's been busted for it, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moller_Skycar_M400#SEC_complaint

Unsubstantiated claims. That's the big one.

On the bright side, you don't need a car to fly anymore:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eS2rjcVcaqQ

[dysfunctional press]

49. too many people can't handle driving in two dimensions...and you want to add a third???

:crazy:

thankfully, flying cars will never be a mass-market reality- insurance companies would never allow it, for one.

[silverweb]

9. I've been watching this car for a long time.

I don't own a car now and I won't buy one until I can get an Air Car. The concept is brilliant and the actualization is moving along nicely.

[Tyler Durden]

19. I've been posting the web site for MDI since 2002.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/03/21/a-new-agreement-between-tata-motors-and-mdi-bring-the-air-car-cl/

Appears that TATA motors of India is going to bring this to market.

[silverweb]

22. Thanks for the links!

I love the Air Car and the prototype keeps getting better and better.

The naysayers piss me off with their negativity; that kind of attitude never accomplishes anything positive and I refuse to give them any attention.

This is another brilliant concept approaching full flower of reality thanks to genius, persistence, and a "Yes, We Can!" attitude!

I'm hoping that Tata makes a quality Air Car that is soon available in the U.S.

[MannyGoldstein]

13. I'm *Very* Skeptical

I can't imagine that compressed air contains so much energy per unit volume. I can see some other issues as well.

[goforit]

25. Yes, they also thought Columbus would fall off the Earth.....Try one.

I bought my first hybrid in 2001.......No one thought it would work then.
So, for the last 7 years I been paying less than one half of what everyone else
has been paying for gas and far less at polluting the air.
And cost maintenance has been practically 0 $$$

I feel justified contributing less to the profits the OIL SATANs of the world.

And to those who say they can't afford it, I say try. If you can buy a different car,
you can buy an energy efficient one as well.

[MannyGoldstein]

52. You Can't Violate The Laws Of Physics

People might have thought a hybrid was impractical, but nobody sane thought that it violated the laws of physics.

This was written by the smartest guy I know, Don Lancaster:

"There’s been some web noise lately over compressed air vehicles. It is obvious they never talked to anyone in the fire service who dearly would love to use compressed air for such tasks as rescue saws, spreaders, rapid cutters, PPV vent fans, and such. But are unable to do so because of the lousy energy density and appalling inefficiency of compressed air. Despite years of careful engineering."

http://www.tinaja.com/glib/energfun.pdf

One simply cannot get a lot of energy out of a given amount of compressed air.

[Tyler Durden]

59. Not if you use the current processeses.

Turbine and other small air engines are by nature inefficient. The MDI and the new one from Australia kick the efficiency to about 3 times that of a gas engine. I've seen that. Doesn't take these new engines into account. HUGE air losses in conventional compressed air devices, and if that's all you talk about, then he's right.

[Tesha]

60. Ahh, so you will use magic instead?

Seriously, this is all perfectly well-understood physics
and unless you find a way to store *ENORMOUS* volumes of
air at *ENORMOUS* pressures (and probably keep it as hot
as it became when it was compressed), you're not going
to get the sort of energy density that American car drivers
expect.

This car is (ahem) a lot of hot air.

Tesha

[Tyler Durden]

61. No need to be rude, even when you're wrong.

We are talking about the ENGINE. There is no internal combustion process that is more than 15-20% efficient in the actual working of the engine due to heat generation and dumping through cooling.. The MDI engine surpasses 60% in energy transfer both in its process and that there is no energy loss through heat.

Storage is not the issue in a medium that does not need to be stored, but compressed on site.

Heat in the Carbon Storage tanks on board is negligible as pressure is 300 bar, the average pressure used by a scuba tank.

Hey, if you don't like the process, don't buy one, but the physics is pretty sound. The car is ugly as hell, but I don't give a shit about ugly...I'd like cheap and efficient, please.

If you have had enough physics to major in it (as I have) you can see this works.

[sofa king]

63. Can you break that down for someone who failed physics?

Here are my problems with this.

First of all, the vehicle is apparently using an on-board conventional motor to do the compression. So why isn't the on-road efficiency of the vehicle limited to the 15-20% efficiency of the compressor motor? That should definitely be a theoretical upper limit, too, for it seems as if overall efficiency would be even worse: why isn't the vehicle getting only 60% of the efficiency of that original 15-20%?

Alternatively, the vehicle can be plugged in and gather its power off the grid, which works great in nuclear-powered France and practically nowhere else. In the U.S., where most of our power generation comes from polluting fossil fuels, we gain only the possibility of reducing emissions by addressing the large point-source pollution at the power plants--which ain't happening as long as the fascists control the White House.

But even if that goes well, there is always a loss of energy in conversion. Am I correct in assuming that this form of storage is less efficient than a standard battery array? Is it the reduction in weight that counts for so much?

So aside from the completely inaccurate selling point that this vehicle "runs on air," where is the advantage of using it over, say, a good hybrid (which this thing suspiciously resembles, without the advantage of regenerative braking) or an all-electric vehicle?

Not trying to be a jerk here, just curious.

[Tesha]

70. It's a bit more subtle than you've described, but you've got the general point.

The big problem is that as you compress air, it heats.
If you let the hot air just waste that heat to the
environment, you've just thrown away a huge amount
of energy because that heat didn't come from nowhere,
it came from the input energy that drives the air
compressor.

So you can do either of two things:

1) At the air compression plant, you may be able to
use the waste heat of the hot air. Perhaps you can
pre-heat the furnace feed air (a recuperator of
sorts). Or maybe you can heat the local area of
the city that houses the air compression plant.

2) You can store the air hot in some sort of well-
insulated tank. Then, when you expand the air,
it cools back down to ambient and you recover
the energy that was embodied in that heat.

Two other minor points:

Here in New England, a fair amount of our electric power
comes from hydro, mostly imported from Quebec. That's
a relatively "green" source of energy as well, so the
compressed air car isn't entirely dependent on nuclear
power; renewable sources are also possible.

The car *COULD* use regenerative braking (by running
the motor as a compressor) but I get the impression
that the current design doesn't do that. That would
require a big step up in sophistication from this
current toy-like design.

Tesha

[sofa king]

72. Thanks for the reply!

I've had a problem with Boyle's Law ever since I first tried to learn it.

[pokercat999]

73. Do the newer rotary screw compressors create the

same amount of heat as the old reciprocating compressors? I know they work very well under continous duty and don't have to shut down to cool like the reciprocating type.

[Tesha]

75. It's the mere fact that you're compressing the gas that evokes the heat.

It isn't a question of friction losses; even if you
had a friction-free compressor, you'd still have the
heat.

Essentially, what we call "heat" is the random, chaotic
motion of all of those zillions of tiny gas molecules.
Within a gas, they're all constantly, flying around and
bouncing off the walls of the container, much like a
bunch of five year olds at a birthday party after the
cake and soda has been served. Each time they bounce
off the walls of the container, a small amount of momentum
(energy) is transferred from the molecule to the wall
that received the "bump".

(some text removed while I get it technically correct.)

Tesha

[Tesha]

79. Take 2: It's the mere fact that you're compressing the gas that evokes the heat.

It isn't a question of friction losses; even if you
had a friction-free compressor, you'd still have the
heat.

Essentially, what we call "heat" is the random, chaotic
motion of all of those zillions of tiny gas molecules.
Within a gas, they're all constantly, flying around and
bouncing off the walls of the container, much like a
bunch of five year olds at a birthday party after the
cake and soda has been served. Each time they bounce
off the walls of the container, a small amount of momentum
(energy) is transferred from the molecule to the wall
that received the "bump".

Now take that container full of gas and squeeze it down.
A lot. In fact, if you want 4,000 PSI or air pressure, keep
squeezing until there's only about 1/54th of the space that
there used to be (but keep the same number of gas molecules
trapped inside the container). The molecules' sugar high
hasn't worn off so they're still flying around at least
at the same rate they used to be, but now, because the walls
are much closer, they bounce off the walls much more often.
(I'm oversimplifying a bit here; they're actually traveling
faster than they were earlier!)

So what we perceive in the outside world is that the gas
has gotten many times hotter. In fact, on an absolute
temperature scale, if the gas was at 293 degrees Kelvin
(that's room temperature) to start with, it's now at
about 1450 degrees Kelvin (which, if my math is correct,
is 2150 degrees Fahrenheit).

This whole thing is called an "adiabatic process".

See:

o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiabatic_process

And as I said before, you now have three choices:

1. Throw away all that heat (and the invested energy
that it represents); your gas will lose pressure until
it's at 793 PSI and you'll get to compress it some
more (to get back to 4000 PSI) and throw more heat
away. Or...

2. Use the heat somewhere near the air compression
plant. You'll still need to recompress, but at least
the heat will be used somewhere. Or...

3. Design your tank so it keeps the compressed air
hot. But that's a tall order; you'll need lots of
insulation or your gas will cool down throughout
the day/week and lose pressure.

A compressed air car *CAN* be built, but the physics
of it are a lot more limiting than these P.R. blurbs
seem to suggest. And physical laws are LAWS that can't
be broken, no matter how clever the machine's designer.

Tesha

[Tesha]

64. Of course storage is an issue.

No matter where the air is compressed, the compressed
air must then be stored *WITHIN THE CAR*.

And unless:

a) The compressor has a way to utilize the heat
evolved as the gas is compressed, OR

b) The gas is stored hot until it can be re-expanded,

there are tremendous energy losses as the compressed
gas cools back down again to ambient temperature
while stored. That heat that just floats away
represents a huge energy loss to the overall system.

This is basic physics and THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO
IN THE MAGIC MOTOR that makes this basic problem go
away; it's basic "gas laws" stuff.

Tesha

[The2ndWheel]

67. And because he didn't fall of the edge

We've ended up with the same problems we always had, just on a much larger scale.

[Strelnikov_]

77. I am also skeptical with the claims being made, but I could see a niche

for compressed air as an energy carrier.

Say, in a ultra-light, low cost, commuter with a 20 mi. +/- range.

The kind of vehicle we are going to need millions of in a few years to get former commuters from their suburban homes to the newly established networks of park-and-rides.


The air car seems to have the same problem as most other alternatives being tried today, in that they are trying to match the flexibility of the traditional IC powered car. Thing is, a discontinuity is looming, and in the near future a 20 mi. range will look pretty good compared to the alternatives.

[Marblehead]

14. I like the fact

that there are no batteries..

[adsdanmatgab]

15. Go to the end of this to see an Australian air motor - maybe superior?

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QmqpGZv0YT4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QmqpGZv0YT4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

[silverweb]

23. Welcome to DU, adsdanmatgab!

Thanks for the Australian video. It's an excellent presentation on compressed air technology! Both MDI and DiPietro's engines are absolutely revolutionary.

If more than one company starts producing competing types of air-driven engines, we'll likely see some real advances very quickly as they fight for market share. This is incredibly exciting!

:hi:

On Edit: Clarify difference between French and Aussie versions.

[mdmc]

31. Welcome to DU

thanks for the links and the reply.:kick:

[Historic NY]

17. Where is the functioning prototype?

If this has been a concept for 10yrs then there should be one that can be examined. I don't see it asa practical concept for interstate highways its more a city transportation vehicle. I don't know what kinda of compressed tanks he is planning but the smallest in use now are for fireman and its only a 30 minute supply. Tanks are heavy and one would need a filling station for pressurizing compressed air and they are expensive and dangerous to fill.

[sce56]

20. In France!

Saw it on the discovery channel last year.

[goforit]

21. OMG!! Sign me up fast!!!

[liberal N proud]

24. I am sure the Auto industry and the Oil companies are working to stop it

Can't have anything that will not burn massive amounts of carbon fuel. They couldn't make money that way.

If it did come into mass production, the oil companies would simply jack the price of oil so you would be paying the equivalent of what you are now on fuel consumption per mile.

Sorry for the skepticism.

[On the Road]

32. Why Would the Auto Industry

want to prevent a new type of auto from being developed? That would be a natural product of theirs.

[liberal N proud]

41. Look no further than who killed the electric car

Auto companies could get todays cars to run 60+ MPG

But they don't

When I was in college, a professor had a Ford F 150 running at over 80 MPG. The truck was donated by Ford, they made the school return it to them soon after.

Why haven't the American Auto companies produced more hybrids? The only ones offered by the "big three" are in SUV's bringing their milage up to a whopping 18 MPG.
Put them in a few sedans and smaller cars and then you are talking about a company committing to doing something about energy crisis.

[pokercat999]

74. 1968 or 69 Indianapolis 500 a turbine lead the race

all the way and it's transmission failed a few laps before the end. The next year they killed the turbine engine by limiting the air intake to 15 square inches reducing its' power to make it a non-competitor to the piston engine.

[sce56]

26. Watch the "Beyond Tommorow Video", shows this car in detail and in action

UTube video]








Yes it will take energy to compress the air but it would be far better and more efficient to use than a gas powered car.

[ozu]

48. gross

Why does ever next gen prototype fuel efficient car have to look like something out of a kids amusement park ride?

Make it look like an actual car and maybe they'll get a few people to buy it.

[sce56]

51. Well It looks very futuristic to me and I would love to own one!

The concept is great and the style for production will most likely be a little different.

[Freedom Train]

81. Futuristic? They look like SHIT!

Make it look like a '68 Charger and I'll buy one instantly.

[KansDem]

82. That's the one thing I liked about the electric car of "Who Killed the Electric Car."

The car's design was pleasant and pleasing to the eye. It didn't look like shit!




But I agree: there's no need to make these new autos look like something clowns would ride in.

[fascisthunter]

30. This is a Good Thing

Kudos...

[BonnieJW]

33. Great idea, but

where will you get the car repaired/maintained? Where will the fuel come from? Don't we need the infrastructure first?

[jmowreader]

35. Fuel and infrastructure, I can handle...

It's just compressed air. All you need is a big-ass compressor to take air, which is available everywhere at prices available to all (namely, free) to 4500psi--the working pressure of the French air car. Once you do that, you put it in tanks and go down the road.

The first problem I see here is that, except for acetylene which is sold at 250psi, compressed gas is sold at 2500psi, not 4500--so someone would have to start building really potent compressors.

OTOH, the French guy has one so obviously it's doable.

The reason I don't think this is much of a solution is that it requires a heavy-duty air compressor to do it, and they run on some kind of power. If you could do it via solar, great. Otherwise...it's a relatively inefficient energy storage medium--one with no tailpipe pollution at all.

[silverweb]

40. There's an on-board air compressor.

You just plug it in for 3-4 hours. Not as quick as a 3-minute refill from a station compressor, but still readily available.

As for repairs, the dealers will likely handle those until more free-lance mechanics learn about the car.

[Juche]

34. 1000 mile range?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html

"And while ZPM is also licensed to build MDI’s two-seater OneCAT economy model (the one headed for India) and three-seat MiniCAT (like a SmartForTwo without the gas), the New Paltz, N.Y., startup is aiming bigger: Company officials want to make the first air-powered car to hit U.S. roads a $17,800, 75-hp equivalent, six-seat modified version of MDI’s CityCAT (pictured above) that, thanks to an even more radical engine, is said to travel as far as 1000 miles at up to 96 mph with each tiny fill-up"


If you had thin film solar panels on your house you'd be set.

[PittPoliSci]

37. what an ugly looking deathbox.

no thanks.

[ohio2007]

39. Ralph Nader may agree on the death trap angle

I've seen a car similar to that. A two door. Looks like somebody STOLE 1/2 the car and I got whiplash just looking at it. Not bashing the idea for thinking out of the box but honestly,
http://images.recordonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TH&Date=20080331&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=803310339&Ref=AR&maxH=230&maxW=370&border=0&Q=80
it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Needs more cushion in the ass end .... unless that is the ass end shown

[Lorien]

42. No doubt far safer than a motorcycle

and those are pretty bloody popular...

[Lorien]

43. I'm still waiting for my Aptera

www.aptera.com. Though an Air Car might fit the bill if Aptera can't get their vehicles into my state soon enough. Either one would cover 90% of my driving needs-and produce less CO2 than a Vespa.

[PittPoliSci]

55. doesn't make 'em smart.

[Lorien]

66. Less gas, less CO2= smart.

Unless you do in fact have money and a planet to burn.

[CRF450]

56. I'd buy a motorcycle over one of those little tincans

In fact I may be getting one this year. A new Yamaha R6.

[Lorien]

65. Motorcycles burn far more fuel and emit a lot more CO2

not that many people riding motorcycles care....

[sofa king]

71. I'm not so sure about that.

As I mentioned above, the compressor motor must still be gas-powered, which means that without significant emissions improvements it won't be much better than my scooter. Or, you can plug it in to our coal-and-oil-fired-and-practically-unregulated-and-definitely-unenforced power grid, leaving George W. Bush to control the emissions.

Just about all scooters and motorcycles in the U.S. have to meet California emissions standards, which the EPA endorsed in 2006. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 2006 regulations appear to be set at just about twice the emissions of a standard light-duty vehicle. Since two-wheelers invariably get at least twice the mileage (in the case of my scooter, four times) as light-duty vehicles, their emissions over distance wind up being about the same or more likely less, no?

At least I hope that's the case, since it was a consideration when I bought my ride.

Edit: Now that I look at it again, it appears as if the standards are in g/km, therefore including distance as a factor and making me look like an ass... again. I'm going for a ride to clear my head.

[superconnected]

44. When it said air car, I thought it'd fly. Darn.

Right now my opinion is, 'cool but they really need to redesign the ugly little thing and make it appealing'. Right now it looks like a messed up herby love bug or some kind of covered bumper car. Either way, that toy doesn't look comfortable. I hope they make some that appeal to adults.

[Politicalboi]

45. I saw this a year or so ago

And they sent me an e-mail about it this year to see if I would buy one next year. I also sent the site to Obama's campaign. This is better than Bio-fuels too. I hope they get the chance to make it happen for us out here.

[Pavulon]

50. A clean diesel electric hybrid please...

45mpg from current known good diesel design. A jetta will do this now. Runs on non corn bio diesel.

So making a hybrid out of a smaller turbo-diesel would be great. Great torque, last FOREVER.

[jmowreader]

57. I've considered diesel hybrids...

There are two basic models for hybrid technology: the Honda model and the Toyota model.

Honda uses a small engine and augments it with an electric motor. This works well, but the engine's running the whole time the car's in use.

Toyota's system turns the engine on in two conditions--when the battery gets too low to push the car, or when the driver wants to go faster than the electric motor will let it.

You could do a Honda-style diesel hybrid very easily--bolt a lil' three-cylinder diesel in there, you'd be fine. A Toyota-style diesel hybrid? Possible, but you'd have to keep the glow plugs on a thermostat to maintain a good running temp in the engine. They're electric, so you're diverting electricity from motive purposes to keep the engine warm enough to work when you needed it. It's doable, but you'd be looking at...oh, 74mpg instead of 75.

[LeftHander]

62. Death throes of ford, gm and chrysler will kill it....

Lobbyists for the big three will broker some weird safety regulation in the backrooms of Washington that will make the air car impossible to put into market.

[peabody71]

68. Love that free air conditioning!!

Lou lou KICK to my lou!!!!!!

[DainBramaged]

76. This is the same car TATA of India threw some money at last year

You'll never see it here basically because it will never meet safety regulations, and TATA knows it. They make cheap cars for the Third World, not America.

Dream on campers.