Alexander IRL
If someone tried to sell you a car that costs around 10,000, you might think it was full of hot air zero emission turns out that this is the car that is full of it and the vehicle rolls over emits nothing but air now, after more than 15 years of languishing in the dark of the car, it's heading towards mass production.
The Air Car is the brainchild of Guy Negro, a French inventor and former Formula One engineer in February, the company Negro, the international development of the auto MDI announced an agreement for the manufacturing technology with Tata Motors, the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in India and a major player in the world it is an innovative technology, it is an environmentally friendly technology and changing technology, said the spokesperson of Tata Debasis Ray it can be used in cars, in commercial vehicles and power generation.
Although Negro unveiled the technology in the early 1990s, interest has increased recently Besides the Tata agreement, which could put thousands of cars on the road in India by the end of the decade, a Negro signed agreements to make the design 12 other countries, including South Africa, Israel and Germany But experts say that the car may never make it in the US streets.
The Air Car works similarly to electric cars, but instead of storing electrical energy in a heavy battery, the vehicle converts the air pressure into energy and stores it in a tank According to Miguel Celades, the engine Negro of MDI uses compressed air stored at a pressure of 300 bar for pumping pistons, providing a range of approximately 60 miles per tank at a highway speed an onboard air compressor may be plugged into a regular intake to home to recharge the tank in about four hours, or an industrial compressor capable of 3500 psi like those found in dive shops can fill in minutes for about two dollars Celades says optional gasoline or biofuel hybrid models hot pressurized air, which increases the volume available for the pistons and allowing the car to drive around 500 miles between air refills and about 160 miles per gallon of fuel burned.
The first media speculated that Tata could have a car air market by the end of 2008, but Ray says he's probably a few years before the technology is available as long as Indian models hit the streets, the best way to see a car Air in action is to cross the pond and check Negro prototypes in France an entrepreneur JP Maeder said trip worthwhile This is not a fantasy, he says of the car, it can have a real impact in how personal transportation will develop from here.
In 2003, Maeder formed ZevCat, a Califonia company that aims to bring However, Air Car in America far, he said his plans have stalled for financial reasons without enough money to build and test prototypes the accident, he can t demonstrate the technology for investors who might be willing to fund more prototypes.
The car could garner more attention in the United States if it makes the market in India or elsewhere before other emerging technologies such as plug-in hybrids or electric cars with fuel cell If this happens, the air tablet could become the next big thing for green -minded drivers, said Larry Rinek, auto analyst at the firm international market research Frost and Sullivan But Rinek questions if the car will have mass appeal another unknown is whether if the vehicle could pass crash tests.
This is a new R & D; It is a curiosity that is far from ready for prime time, says Rinek is unknown and unreliable, particularly in North America where, he said, the adoption of new technology is moving very slowly.
Story by Eric Mack This article appeared in Plenty in January 2008.
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