my thoughts on free energy in cars

[vicaphit]

vicaphit wrote:
Chernobyl!
Kidding. In northern Ohio, near where my grandparents live, there is a Nuclear power plant built on a fault line, and it hasn't had any trouble yet! (my grandparents have cracks in their plaster from earthquakes though.

Hey! back in the early 1980's I toured a nuclear power plant east of Cleveland. I wonder if it's the same one?

It probably was, they live east of cleveland, and I think the power plant is in Mentor maybe (can't remember what town)

[stev]

Tata Motors of Inda today released their all new NANO vehicle that will sell for about $2,500USD in Inda.

The vehicle gets about 20km/L. That's just a shade less than 80 miles per gallon.

It's a vehicle that's very similar looking to the Dalmier Smart-4-Two and Smart-4-four vehicles.

ALSO, in the news about Tata, the has licensed MDI air powered engines to mass produce the first air powered cars for 2008!

It will be very interesting to see these cars in the near future.

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Tata Motors may launch MDI compressed air car production next year – Economic Times
21st August 2007

The Rs 1-lakh (£1,250) car is not the only affordable car technology that Tata Motors will launch next year, believes India’s Economic Times, suggesting today that Tata has plans to start building cars whose MDI compressed air motor technology it acquired a licence for at the start of this year, as soon as 2008.

The paper says the air cars are expected to be in the same price band as the current Indica supermini range (approximately around Rs 3.50 lakh) and will probably mirror the variant developed by inventor Guy Nègre’s MDI company, called MiniCAT. The Economic Times suggests their debut may coincide with the launch of the Rs 1-lakh car, next year, but drew no comment from a Tata Motors spokesperson, beyond confirmation that the technology required ‘a couple of years’ work.

In February this year, Tata Motors signed an agreement with Moteur Development International (MDI) to source technology to develop engines powered by compressed air. These cars were developed by Guy Nègre, the French former F1 engineer, and the engines are gasoline, fuel gas, bio-diesel, liquid gas, ecological fuel, alcohol and ethanol blend compatible.

Licences to manufacture and distribute MDI-designed cars have been sold to unnamed companies in the UK, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and the U.S., but to date only Tata Motors has indicated that it expects to launch commercial production within a period of a few years.

MDI has developed five models altogether. Its latest OneCAT prototype for developing markets is presented in three- and five-seat versions, costing an estimated €3,500 and €5,300 respectively, and emitting –from their compressed air recharges – only 30-35 g/km of CO2.

(Economic Times, http://www.theaircar.com)

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[hercules71185]

yea I thought that was pretty cool. I wonder how much shipping is? I think it would be a nice car for my gf. baby blue with pink racing stripes. lol

[stev]

So far, everyone of these AirCars have been right-hand drive. I'll hoping Canada would start building these vehicles soon. At one time there was an interest to build them outside Montreal at a closed plant.

Electric cars are great if you live down south. Keeping an electric charge in batteries up north here is a real pain. AirCars would work great up our way.

A small car like the AirCar would be so ideal for a work communter vehicle. Even though it is small, it's still safer than rideing a motorbike into work.

[vicaphit]

Crash tests with the smart car have actually gone pretty well. I saw a crash test video at http://www.topgear.com, it wasn't a high speed test, but you can't get those things up to speed very well anyway!

[stev]

Crash tests with the smart car have actually gone pretty well. I saw a crash test video at http://www.topgear.com, it wasn't a high speed test, but you can't get those things up to speed very well anyway!

I'm very surprised at how well Tata motors has made the safety crush zones and side impact bars too for the AirCar.

Jokingly ...
Now, when was the last time you were hit with a golf cart.

[vicaphit]

Haha, smart cars will be great for when a car hits a pedestrian!

[Tim Burton]

i was under the impression it ( the air car) uses a battery that keeps charge from an alternator to compress the air

You just described perpetual motion, which is currently impossible.

Glad someone finally said it. TANSTAAFL

[yurchie]

AC Transit in Berkeley, CA, now has buses running on hydrogen. They are also building a facility which will use solar power to produce hydrogen. Things are in motion.

[vicaphit]

California seems to be the leader in the US for energy conservation efforts. Maybe because of the smog in L.A.

[inko1nsiderate]

i was under the impression it ( the air car) uses a battery that keeps charge from an alternator to compress the air

You just described perpetual motion, which is currently impossible.

More than currently impossible, the laws of thermodynamics are pretty explicit on the fact that a true perpetual motion is impossible.

[vicaphit]

Laws can change, even physics laws. I put "currently" in there to protect myself against a new discovery, where perpetual motion was possible, and everyone had flying cars and deficated in space age machines that teleport poo to venus. (I thought about saying Uranus there for the obvious joke).

but back on topic.

Yes, perpetual motion is a thing of dreams.