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Forget biofuel, try a car that runs on air
Times Online ^ | 2/20/08 | Rhys Blakely

Posted on 02/21/2008 6:16:23 AM PST by ZGuy

A car that runs on air and releases no pollutants into the atmosphere at low speeds could be on sale in India as soon as this year.

The three-seat fibreglass OneCAT weighs only 350kg (770lb) and is expected to be priced at about £2,500. The engine technology is backed by Tata, the Indian conglomerate that last month unveiled the world’s cheapest car, the £1,250 Nano.

Refuelling involves topping up on compressed air, which is used to power the OneCAT’s piston engine. In a couple of minutes - and at a cost of as little as £1 - the vehicle is ready to travel another 200 to 300 kilometres (125 to 185 miles), its inventors said.

The vehicle, which burns small amounts of conventional fuels at higher speeds, has been developed by Moteur Development International (MDI), a French-based, family owned group that has been working on an “air car” for the past decade. “The engine is efficient, cost-effective, scalable and capable of other applications, like power generation,” a spokesman said.

Vivek Chattopadhyaya, of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, said: “What counts is how much energy all the processes involved require - from manufacturing the car to compressing the air.”

Mass production moved a step closer last year when MDI agreed a partnership with Tata, under which the companies pledged to refine the technology. The Indian group said that the system may represent “the ultimate environ-ment-friendly engine” and is studying its commercial feasibility.

MDI, whose engine is competing with rival technologies that range from electric vehicles and biofuels to hybrid engines and hydrogen-based fuel cells, has said that its first mass-market model could go on sale this year.

Worldwide sales of “zero emission” cars are languishing in the thousands, but with oil prices running at record levels, energy efficiency has become a watchword across the car industry.

According to MDI, its fleet includes cars that could cover 100 kilometres for about 60p. A full tank of compressed air would last for up to ten hours. A top speed of about 70 miles an hour has been claimed. An oil change should be necessary only every 30,000 miles or more and the air expelled from the engine will be clean and cold and can be used in the air conditioning unit.

Vital statistics

Fuel: Compressed air (some conventional fuel at higher speeds)

Cost of refuelling: about £1

Range: 200km to 300km (a full tank should last up to ten hours)

Servicing: OIl change about every 30,000 miles

Seats: Three

Weight: 350kg

Price: about £2,500


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: india
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1 posted on 02/21/2008 6:16:24 AM PST by ZGuy
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To: ZGuy

2 posted on 02/21/2008 6:18:07 AM PST by ZGuy
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To: ZGuy

A great idea for the cities, but horrible for the rest of the country.


3 posted on 02/21/2008 6:19:19 AM PST by snowrip (Liberal? YOU ARE A SOCIALIST WITH NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT.)
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To: ZGuy

Well... here comes the air tax.


4 posted on 02/21/2008 6:19:58 AM PST by CindyDawg
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To: ZGuy

The engine technology is backed by Tata...

5 posted on 02/21/2008 6:20:40 AM PST by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: ZGuy

“Worldwide sales of “zero emission” cars are languishing in the thousands, but with oil prices running at record levels, energy efficiency has become a watchword across the car industry”
The price of oil is less a concern to me personally than is becoming less dependent upon those scum in OPEC, new technologies, domestic supplies and conservation should all be on the table.


6 posted on 02/21/2008 6:20:45 AM PST by Billg64
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To: ZGuy

There was a time in early industrial London that power was distributed by means of compressed air.


7 posted on 02/21/2008 6:21:30 AM PST by Moonman62 (The issue of whether cheap labor makes America great should have been settled by the Civil War.)
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To: ZGuy
If it releases HEAT the global warming crowd will still oppose it.

They are against burning wood in a fireplace because HEAT is emitted, warming the planet. NO JOKE.

8 posted on 02/21/2008 6:22:36 AM PST by weegee (Those who surrender personal liberty to lower global temperatures will receive neither.)
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To: Billg64

Hear! Hear!


9 posted on 02/21/2008 6:23:15 AM PST by PubliusMM (RKBA; a matter of fact, not opinion)
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To: ZGuy

OK...the cold air exhaust can be used by the AC. But, it’s about ZERO outside this morning...does it have a heater?


10 posted on 02/21/2008 6:24:13 AM PST by PubliusMM (RKBA; a matter of fact, not opinion)
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To: ZGuy
“What counts is how much energy all the processes involved require - from manufacturing the car to compressing the air.”

True. We can coddle the enviros with home solar-powered compressors so they can sleep knowing their cars aren't powered by evil coal-fired power plants.

11 posted on 02/21/2008 6:24:28 AM PST by randog (What the...?!)
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To: ZGuy

12 posted on 02/21/2008 6:25:09 AM PST by Vaquero (" an armed society is a polite society" Heinlein "MOLON LABE!" Leonidas of Sparta)
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To: ZGuy

Yep. That’ll work just fine up here in the Frozen Tundra. It was FIFTEEN BELOW this morning. Even my regular car doesn’t like to start at those temps, LOL!


13 posted on 02/21/2008 6:26:19 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: ZGuy

Boy, I can’t wait to see one of these cars after they have a run-in with an SUV or a bus...


14 posted on 02/21/2008 6:28:14 AM PST by Little Ray (So its McCain or Huckabee? Pass me the bloody KoolAid.)
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To: ZGuy

No Food for Fuel bump.


15 posted on 02/21/2008 6:28:52 AM PST by TexasCajun
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To: ZGuy

“will be clean and cold and can be used in the air conditioning unit:

See it Combats Global Warming too

LOL


16 posted on 02/21/2008 6:28:59 AM PST by tomnbeverly (U.S. Military; rescuing the world from mysticism and tyranny one jihadist at a time.)
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To: ZGuy

17 posted on 02/21/2008 6:29:09 AM PST by Leisler
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To: randog

Even if we have to burn used tires for power, its better than buying oil from the likes of Chavez, the royal Saudi family and the corrupt mexican govt.


18 posted on 02/21/2008 6:29:26 AM PST by Billg64
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To: ZGuy
Hey mister? ... Can I have my ticket to the cave of perpetual happiness, where I can go and live on bugs and berries, now?


For crying out loud ... There is a solution ... simply do away with all socialists, commies, and Muslims.


Then we will have the time and resources to remove, gangs, phedophiles, rapists, murderers, etc. etc. from our own country.

19 posted on 02/21/2008 6:29:36 AM PST by G.Mason (And what is intelligence if not the craft of out-thinking our adversaries?)
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To: ZGuy

I own shares in a compressed air mine, so this will work out well for me.


20 posted on 02/21/2008 6:30:49 AM PST by ClearCase_guy
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