[Dogrobber]

Yeah, I checked out the site today and I was really impressed. First, this is a Spanish company- not French - and the Spanish make some really innovative stuff. The tanks are carbon fibre wrapped around plastic liners, strong, light and resistant to corrosion.
The vehicles are touting ranges of 125 to 185 miles on full tanks with a 4 hour refilling time using internal electrical motors to drive the air motor to charge the tank. I generally go five miles each way to work with a sixty mile trip once or twice a week. That means I would not have to "refuel" daily, or if I did, it would not take four hours. My sixty mile trips would be 1/2 tank and would only mean a two hour recharge at my home.
The only real problem is the top speed is 55 mph.

[Asfarastheeastisfromthewest...]

Well, as far as top speed goes, it's meant as an about town car where speeds on city streets are less than 55 most of the time. As should be evident, it is not suitable for every driving need but within very specific application guidelines, it's just the ticket.

[decal]

I've been aware of MDI for awhile now (from a link at Car Talk).

The big cheese there is Guy Negre, who used to design engines for Formula One cars, so I doubt this is a scam.

These vehicles are mostly meant for city commuting; you won't want to get on the Autobahn with one of these.

Their biggest problem isn't so much speed or range but heft:

"Fundamentally, the vehicle is a simple, light urban car, composed of a fibre-glass or hemp fibre body like other modern cars (Renault Espace amongst others), and not sheet steel like most vehicles. The chassis is tubular, as in racing car engines and motorcycles, to produce strength at a light weight. Additionally, the parts are not soldered but glued as in aerospace technology."

http://www.theaircar.com/car.html

The vehicles only weigh 1650 lb - no match for a Corolla in a head-on, let alone a semi.