Compressed-air car to go commercial next year?

One car manufacturer is readying the launch of a product which runs on nothing more than hot air. (The jokes just write themselves, don't they?) Air_Pod_02 MDI's Air Pod: runs on air Motor Development International’s Air Pod, made from a mixture of fibreglass and polyurethane foam, is powered by compressed air. Essentially …

[Bassey]

Usual stuff

It looks like a cross between a London Eye Pod and one of those South East Asian Putt Putts. With a 130mile range and running on compressed air it's actually one of the more practical "alternative" vehicles as an everyday commuter for those living in large cities. However, it suffers from the usual problem that no-one in their right mind would want to drive one of these through (for example) central London because they'd be afraid of getting squished by a Truck/Bendy Bus/Chelsea Tractor.

There is a reason people buy feck-off great cars (other than vanity, keeping up with the Joneses etc) and that's because the media have convinced them everyone is out to get them and they need to be in something akin to a tank to survive.

[Matt]

hmm

what happens when it gets hit by a real car?

[Harry]

It looks very ...

"smart" !

[Ben]

Perfect for cities

...no really. Fast enough, goes far enough, non-polluting enough, safer for pedestrians and cyclists, really nice to get into and out of, cheap enough... just wanted to get that in there before all the w*****s start complaining it's not a flyingcar/300mph supercar.

[Frank]

Just Hope..

..that the 'refuelling connector' has some very well designed safety interlocks on it.

[Charles]

Why does this + a lorry give me the willies?

175L of air compressed at 350 bar. In comparison, a SCUBA tank is 12L at 230 bars. *That* has been proven to be able to give steel and concrete trouble should it spring a leak. I'd hate to think what'll happen if the car's air tank gets punctured by a stray projectile (say, a bullet during a shootout) or--much worse--car meets lorry in a bad way.

[Pete]

and when an accident ruptures the air-tank?

does the car (and all it's contents) zoom around the street making a farting sound, just like an inflated balloon does when you let go of it's neck?

Only this time with disastrous results for anyone unlucky enough to be nearby.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is the Pac-Man styling optional?

And if not, does it make a vroo-vroo-vroo noise when the air runs out?

[Dunstan Vavasour]

Sinclair C5?

Has the feel of another Sinclair C5 to me - too small and toy like to be taken seriously.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sums

I thought if you did the sums the energy taken to compress the air made it less efficient than a car, or even an electric car.

It also seems to be trying to get around crash test rules by declaring itself a bike or whatever they do. If you deduct the extra weight for all the safety bars, air bags stronger pillars and so on from a Polo which'll do 70mpg you'd polute a lot less anyway.

[Simon Painter]

moving the energy consumption elsewhere

what's the carbon footprint of the compressor?

[colin syme]

comp. air car

I am a scooter driver, this car looks interesting as l will be able to use it all year round, l have also read that the compressor can be linked to a micro wind turbine which means that it could be charged overnight, depending on weather conditions. as for the risk of the tank being ruptured by a stray bullet, thankfully l live in the UK and there is more chance of meeting Elvis and John Wayne,---on the same day!