Why is it that the groups of people never mention the Air Car as the "Cleanest car" ?

Question

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

This says more then electric cars! Electric cars are still superficial in the idea that either Coal or Nuclear plants would be in higher demand! I'm on pure Solar power and it's not practical to have "electric cars" with solar power. Now, the Air Car, That's something EVERY Country and Every Person should be BACKING and ORDERING RIGHT NOW! The "by-product" or "Exhaust" is AC for the car! Clean pure AIR! Nuf Said. I hope someone else figures this out soon!

Answer 1

the air car has been promised for over 8 years.The distributed manufacturing idea looks promising.
there are problems getting the energy density or the volume required into a car. the higher pressure the less efficient compression overall, the more leaks etc and the greater the cooling effect when run, could freeze up.
- whatever the reason they have not managed to do it.

Battery electric on the otherhand have come up with efficient on the road solutions eg http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/. and electric motors have been around, tried and tested, for over 100 years; the first car to exceed 100mph was electric.
www.speedace.info

Answer 2

I'm afraid the air car IS an electric car. The air is not the power source for the car - it is a storage medium for energy. The energy is the electric pump that compresses the air. So the air tank is the equivalent of a battery.
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But electric power is cleaner and cheaper than gas, even if powerplants burn dirty fuel - because of the high efficiencies involved. So the air car is very clean.

Answer 3

First it is going to take a lot of energy to compress that air, then it can only go about 20-30 miles per hour. And at high speed it runs on a fossil fuel engine. So pretty much it is a dinky hybrid car that instead of running on electric runs on compress air at low speeds. Plus it only has a range of about 100-150 miles. Most cars can go 300 miles on a take of gas.

Yes you could use windmills to compress the air, but to get it to compress it to the pressures you need for the amount of time you'd need the windmill going all day long or have a really really big one.

Answer 4

I do not agree with previous post:

I am a renewable energies engineer and here is why it is a great idea:

- only a small turbine would be needed to power the car: the average weight of the car might decrease and then the energy consumption.
- exhausting the compressed air in the back of the car would act against the "drag" created at the trunk of the car
- compressing air can be done at anytime which means we could use power from a fluctuating source like windmills... and then no synchronisation to the grid is requiered.

Answer 5

Because it takes energy to compress that air from somewhere. And usually it is electricity from burning coal, oil or natural gas.

If you hear about people talking about running cars on air and water, I can guarantee they haven't had much engineering experience in college, because it defies natures law on conservation of energy. Bottom line - you can't get something for nothing or in this case - no energy in, no energy out. For that matter Hydrogen cars are very similar.

If you're looking for a "clean" car, you might as well run a Honda Civic GX NGV. That truly has been named the "Cleanest Vehicle on Earth"

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/automotivetech/c9454ccdc09ae010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html?s_prop16=RSS:whatsnew

Answer 6

Huh. I didn't even know there was such a car! Thanks!

The oil industries must have killed it with attacks of bad publicity like they did to the electric car.
The only reason hybrids are being sold is that they still use a little bit of oil.
"Everyone's happy"

p.s.- Electric cars didn't have solar panels. That's one of the myths started by the oil companies I guess. You just charge them at home, like you would you cell phone.

Answer 7

One of my pet jokes is that if the Mormon Church got behind the compressed-air car that we'd all be driving one next month! It still takes energy (lot's of it) to operate them but I'm al for it.....keep advertising!

Answer 8

tell us where to find info on this........I have never heard of it