Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010

W

Wags

Full time employment: Posting here.
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Aug 9, 2007
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That damn "market" thing is at it again! How come the government can't come up with ideas like this. And have they considered the impact on global warming?
 
You can see one on the road in this video:
YouTube - The Air Car

My bet is in a few years gas prices will be back down, everyone will be buying Hummers, and we'll be watching a new movie, "Who Killed the Air Car?"
 
I guess you fill up at the air hose,eh?
I suppose I'd drive one just so I could tell the attendant to give me a (you pick your own>:D) instead of a fill up.
 
Ive seen those on the Science channel. Looks like an interesting idea. The ones they showed had a pretty limited speed for the air compressor motor(40 mph?). After that you would run on gas. They also talked about one day the cars motor might be used to fill the air tank which would then run the motor. You would never have fill it up.

Like the Smart car, it could be a good commuter car for city driving. But seems somewhat limited for highway use. Be interesting to see if it catches on.
 
Unless there is a real manahattan project to find a real alternative to oil, sorry all this talk about air powered cars, biofuel etc will be nothing more than fringes. Nope gang we will probably be fighting wars for oil.
 
newguy888 said:
Unless there is a real manahattan project to find a real alternative to oil, sorry all this talk about air powered cars, biofuel etc will be nothing more than fringes. Nope gang we will probably be fighting wars for oil.
Click to expand...

No argument from me. Things like the air car, biofuels, conservation can help, but as world oil demand goes up and the supply doesn't, we need to be working on something better.

Unfortunately, there are no magic bullets. All our alternatives have costs and downsides. Let's not have the perfect be the enemy of the good.
 
What we really need is a "hot air" powered vehicle. Talk about limitless supply...
 
Rambler said:
These cars would work great in Washington!!:cool:

R
Click to expand...

What about the rest of us who live outside the D.C area?

Would anybody be open to a HEMP Mobile? Similar to the HEMP powered bus that the GREAT Willie Nelson uses.

GOD BLESS US ALL:angel:
 
So are there any numbers on how much energy it takes to compress the air?

I've talked to some mechanical engineers about these air storage methods (it is *not* a new idea), and they say it is a pretty inefficient process. In other words, you are probably better off burning oil to propel a car (like we do today), than burning oil or coal to generate electricity, distribute it to an electric motor that runs an air compressor, put that compressed air into your car, and then use that to propel an 'air motor' in the car.

There is no free lunch.

Regardless, I think this could be a good technology to replace small engines that don't have good pollution controls. Things like lawnmowers, chain saws, etc. Those little engines create a high % of the total pollution, because they have so few controls. I'd love an air powered lawnmower, just pump it up overnight, no gas to store and burn.

-ERD50
 
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Reminds me of the "water power" vehicles, same faulty logic about more power to do the electrolysis than you get out of it.
 
ERD50 said:
So are there any numbers on how much energy it takes to compress the air?

I've talked to some mechanical engineers about these air storage methods (it is *not* a new idea), and they say it is a pretty inefficient process. In other words, you are probably better off burning oil to propel a car (like we do today), than burning oil or coal to generate electricity, distribute it to an electric motor that runs an air compressor, put that compressed air into your car, and then use that to propel an 'air motor' in the car.

There is no free lunch.

Regardless, I think this could be a good technology to replace small engines that don't have good pollution controls. Things like lawnmowers, chain saws, etc. Those little engines create a high % of the total pollution, because they have so few controls. I'd love an air powered lawnmower, just pump it up overnight, no gas to store and burn.

-ERD50
Click to expand...

Found this link to some interesting info on air powered cars.

Pneumatic Options Research Library: Home Page
 
UncleHoney said:
Found this link to some interesting info on air powered cars.

Pneumatic Options Research Library: Home Page
Click to expand...

Interesting yes, but a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Anytime someone uses the word 'patent' and 'secret' in the same sentence, it sets off alarm bells for me. Patents are made public, there are no 'secrets' when you patent something.

If I followed him, he's trying to say that compressed air is 'solar power' because the sun compressed the air on our planet (I thought that was gravity?). But you can't do any work with atmospheric air - just like any energy source, you need a *difference* in energy potential to turn it into work.

-ERD50
 
The air powered car is a great solution for lowering our dependance on foreign oil.
However, uses are limited and it is a horid solution in terms of efficiency.
Yes, the car itself is very 'clean', however the energy to compress the air is not cheap. Batteries are far more efficient.
I do look forward to seeing an air powered highway capable car (I just don't think I will;))
 
Zathras said:
The air powered car is a great solution for lowering our dependance on foreign oil.
Click to expand...

Only if it is more efficient or cost effective than all electric cars, or flywheel cars, or hydrogen cars (hydrogen is just another storage medium ).

You need energy to charge up the air tank or to charge up the batteries. That energy could come from coal, nukes, renewables, etc. That would lower our oil consumption.

The guys at Tesla Motors are no dummies. I tend to think that if an air tank worked better than a battery pack, the Tesla would be air powered. But it is not.

-ERD50
 
Hmmm...with Al's custom made piano seat and some costco size cans of beans, I think we might have something...
 
ERD50 said:
Only if it is more efficient or cost effective than all electric cars, or flywheel cars, or hydrogen cars (hydrogen is just another storage medium ).
Click to expand...

Sorry ERD, I wasn't very clear I guess.
Electric cars are a far better solution than the air car. All I was saying is that the air car would get some fraction of our transportation off of oil.

Similar to ethanol, it lowers our dependance on foreign oil. But it costs as much if not more energy and raises food prices. It sucks as far as a solution goes, but it still reduces the need for oil. If reducing oil consumption is the only qualifier, ethanol and air both work as partial solutions.
 
Solving the problem from the wrong end. Until we start making energy from something other than oil, coal and natural gas...what uses that energy is irrelevant. Air and electricity made from fossil fuels is no better than a gas motor.

But unlike nuclear reactors and football field sized solar arrays, people just cant feel bad about a car with a battery, big fat capacitor or air tank in it.

That is until they're hit by an F-350
 
Until we start making energy from something other than oil, coal and natural gas...what uses that energy is irrelevant.
Click to expand...
Incorrect. An electrical engine is much more efficient than a good old fashioned internal combustion engine. Se even if your electricity is coming from burning oil you are still being more efficient with that energy.
I agree that both ends need to be worked on, but improvements at either end are both a good thing.
 
To the best of my knowledge the % of electricity generated by oil is small and will be even less as more solar and wind generators go on line.

I have two issues with the Telsa: cost ($98,000 is a bit much), and recharge time/range.

I want a car that I can drive for 8 hours on the freeway - 300 mile range if I can re-charge during a lunch stop.

If we are to change our national addiction of gasoline the vehicle needs to accommodate 4 persons (parents and two kids), their gear, and be under $25,000 for the basic model.
 
Zathras said:
Incorrect.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I thought it was pretty well proven that the average delivered unit of electricity minus production and distribution costs of both the electricity and the device thats intended to replace a gas motor...was below the efficiency and cost of a reasonably sized modern gas engine and gasoline production.

Cuz...if it wasnt...we'd all be using whatever was by now, right?

But then there are people who think the jury is still out on global warming...

Brat - Roughly 50% of the electricity generated in the US is from coal, 19% from natural gas and 3% from diesel/equiv. Nukes are 18% and hydro is about 7%.

So going back around to the original point, if everyone starts driving electric/compressed air/bean powered cars, we'd have to make a lot more electricity. So wheres that going to come from and how will it be produced?

Oh gosh. We do have a shitload of coal, dont we?

About 20 years later when all the NIMBY problems are resolved and solar production is efficient enough for us to produce the national supply from solar farms in out of the way places...providing of course that we decide as a nation to spend money on trivialities like this instead of the really important ones we're funding now...maybe. Just maybe.
 
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