Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010 at Sub-$18,000, Could Hit 1000-Mile Range http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html?series=19 The Air Car caused a huge stir when we reported last year that Tata Motors would begin producing it in India. Now the little gas-free ride that could is headed Stateside in a big-time way. Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) confirmed to PopularMechanics.com on Thursday that it expects to produce the world’s first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the U.S. licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car as a compression-based alternative to the internal combustion engine, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country, at a clip of up to 10,000 Air Cars per year. 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. We’ll believe that when we drive it, but MDI’s new dual-energy engine—currently being installed in models at MDI facilities overseas—is still pretty damn cool in concept. After using compressed air fed from the same Airbus-built tanks in earlier models to run its pistons, the next-gen Air Car has a supplemental energy source to kick in north of 35 mph, ZPM says. A custom heating chamber heats the air in a process officials refused to elaborate upon, though they insisted it would increase volume and thus the car’s range and speed. “I want to stress that these are estimates, and that we’ll know soon more precisely from our engineers,” ZPM spokesman Kevin Haydon told PM, “but a vehicle with one tank of air and, say, 8 gal. of either conventional petrol, ethanol or biofuel could hit between 800 and 1000 miles.” Those figures would make the Air Car, along with Aptera’s Typ-1 and Tesla’s Roadster, a favorite among early entrants for the Automotive X Prize, for which MDI and ZPM have already signed up. But with the family-size, four-door CityCAT undergoing standard safety tests in Europe, then side-impact tests once it arrives in the States, could it be the first 100-mpg, nonelectric car you can actually buy?
As a daily driver hell yea. I'll never get another speeding ticket again...well maybe on the weekends
:rofl::rofl: they remind me of the smart cars I see everywhere here. talk about highspeed chases going cross country......:si:
It's kind of hard to argue with. It's just too bad Subaru Will Not be the first manufacturer to bring a diesel to us in the states or else they'd already have my business without a doubt. Honda is going to beat Subaru to the punch last time I read. I actually hope this thing lives up to it's range estimates because what we don't need is another Prius Promise.... did you see that? I just coined a new phrase!
Crazy small cars is almost all they have in Europe. Many of which make it onto the German autobahn. Spend a few days driving in Paris and you'd sell your mother for a small car with good milage. In fact there are just about as many mopeds as there are tiny cars. Oh, and after a few days of driving in Paris you'd beg for Atlanta traffic. hnoes: Americans need to get out of the mindset that bigger is better. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I'm not saying those cars are safer than a Suburban, but I am saying that millions of people paying more for fuel and driving just as much can't be completely wrong.