Cars That Run On Air Coming Sooner Than You Think

Kiss gasoline goodbye, forget about ethanol and leave the hybrids at the dealership, because in two years, there will be an automobile for sale that literally runs on air. Zero Pollution Motors has set up shop in nearby New Paltz and will be selling a vehicle that can get up to a thousand miles per 1-2 hour charge and can do 96 mph to get there.

From The NY Daily News:

New Paltz, N.Y., has long been known as a bastion of progressive thinking, living and being, man. So it's no surprise the town is headquarters for a company planning to produce the world's first air-powered automobile for the U.S. by 2010. The France-based Zero Pollution Motors says it's manufacturing 10,000 vehicles in its first year and expects to sell them for about $17,800. The cars will have 75 horsepower — that's a little less than the SmartForTwo — will seat six and will produce zero emissions.

"Electricity powers an onboard compressor to compress air to 4,500 pounds per square inch into a pressure tank contained in the vehicle," ZPM communications director Kevin Haydon told the Daily News from New Paltz. "This can be done in a garage overnight and it will take 1-2 hours. The compressed air is then used to power the engine."

Interest in the car is already high and it isn't hard to see why. With gas prices continuing their fast-paced ascent, people are looking for a better way to get around. The air-powered car (or AirCar for short) will be available by 2010 an orders will be taken much sooner than that. With inventions like this, all we need know is to fix the problem of where that 1-2 hour charge comes from. Getting rid of coal, oil and nuclear based power sources and switching to wind and solar will help complete an environmentally friendly way of making our country run.

A Revolutionary Automobile

For a hundred and fifty years cars have run on gasoline to drive a combustible engine, turning the oiled pistons and making the automobile move. Many changes have been made over the years and recently the drive for cleaner technology has made the ecological performance improve. Yet until now, there has been nothing like an air car.

From RawStory:

BBC News is reporting that a French company has developed a pollution-free car which runs on compressed air. India's Tata Motors has the car under production and it may be on sale in Europe and India by the end of the year.

The air car, also known as the Mini-CAT or City Cat, can be refueled in minutes from an air compressor at specially equipped gas stations and can go 200 km on a 1.5 euro fill-up -- roughly 125 miles for $3. The top speed will be almost 70 mph and the cost of the vehicle as low as $7000.

The car features a fibreglass body and a revolutionary electrical system and is completely computer-controlled. It is powered by the expansion of compressed air, using no combustion at all, and the exhaust is entirely clean and cool enough for use in the internal air conditioning system.

It is cheap, well built and emits no carbon whatsoever into the atmosphere. What are the chances that this air car will be sold in the U.S. praytell? There is nothing about a model for the states, but if you travel to Europe or India, be sure to look out for the cars that run on air.