Who Will Kill the French Air Car?
Friday March 30th 2007, 1:56 pm
Filed under: cars/bikes/etc,daily life,environment,health

the air carIn 1991, Guy Négre, a French ex-Formula One engineer, founded a company (Moteur Developpment International or MDI) that would continue the development of his invention, the Air Car. He would ultimately aim to put it on the global market and manufacture it. To date, it is not available to purchase. Why isn’t it – 16 YEARS LATER? Will the same fate kill the Air Car as it did the Electric Car?

What is the Air car?
The Air Car is a car that uses compressed air technology and is powered by an air engine. It does not use any gasoline whatsover. Compressed air is stored in carbon or glass fiber tanks at a pressure of 4,351 pounds per square inch (psi). This air is fed through an air injector to the engine and flows into a small chamber, which expands the air. The air pushing down on the pistons moves the crankshaft, which gives the vehicle power. It is inexpensive to manufacture, and most importantly, does not pollute.1

Advantages Over the Hybrid
I may be one of the few to say this in public but I honestly don’t know why hybrids are getting all the buzz. Admittedly, they pollute the air less than standard cars, but they still do pollute AND they create a different pollution problem that is horrible. That itty-bitty detail seems to be getting overlooked. People should know that they have mongo sized batteries and no one can tell me exactly how long they last and where they will end up like other dead batteries. But we know where they’ll end up, don’t we? Yup, in a landfill. Batteries are one of the most hazardous elements to leach into soil from landfills, so while the beloved hybrid won’t pollute the air as much, they will cause harmful pollution in other ways. I personally find that biodiesels and Air Cars (with their zero pollution) are the true wave of the future but I can’t fight multinational lobbyists – so I think hybrids may be here to stay for a while.

In any case, I’m rooting for the Air Car even if isn’t the most attractive car (either is the hybrid!), and even if it will suffer a slow, torturous, unfair death. Or will it? One very big company in India, actually THE biggest automobile company in India (Tata Motors) has agreed to help further develop the air engine technology. Plus, the Air Car has been in news more and more lately so at least I know it is still alive and kicking. Go Air Car go!

The Air Car
Watch a video of The Air Car on YouTube
Zero Pollution and Low Cost
Tata Motors

1 From How Stuff Works

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23 Comments so far
Leave a comment

Wow, I had never heard of this. That’s incredible. Thanks for bringing this to everyone’s attention.

Comment by Cody McKibben 04.04.07 @ 4:18 pm

thanks for visiting and commenting, cody. please spread the news if possible.

Comment by ptinfrance 04.05.07 @ 6:16 am

I have a 2000 Honda Insight and it is still going
strong, with “out of warranty batteries”.The recycling of batteries[and all materials]has not
been a TOP PRIORITY of our officials. If laws change – technology changes to accomodate.

Comment by mike mclaughlin 06.27.07 @ 11:48 am

WHEN CAN I GET ONE ?
This is lateral thinking at its best, we need these cars to role out. asap.
Alan

Comment by Alan Brennan 07.09.07 @ 6:57 pm

soon, i hope!

Comment by ptinfrance 07.10.07 @ 8:22 am

is this car manufactur on the new york stock exchange

Comment by larry rogers 10.03.07 @ 6:34 am

I want an air car. I don’t want to buy anything else. How can I get an air car?

Comment by frances hall 03.04.08 @ 9:23 pm

I want an air car. How can I get one?

Comment by frances hall 03.04.08 @ 9:25 pm

This car is going into production 2008 in India by Tata, one one the largest vehicle makers in the world. No doubt while the rest of the world embraces this and other technologies the Americans will still be hauling their fat arses round in SUVs.

Comment by Geddy 05.04.08 @ 2:39 am

this is what i think the inventors should educate the general public with new air powered riding lawn mowers and golf carts and street cars and mining cars and railroad engines if they could get a foot hold in the market of quiet new technology the cars will get a foot in the door

have the judical department of justice say the truth is out there and the public wants change for the good of the world wild life and the children of tommorrow.the next genertion will pay dearly who will be the one’s who loose it all if the educated powers that be wont or dont what is right for mankind ,i say shut it all down it they dont have any sense anymore,
GEt the chinese and japan run our country for those nuts in washington have their head in the sand.

Comment by k collins 05.04.08 @ 10:47 pm

How do I get one?

Comment by Chris Harris 06.03.08 @ 1:29 pm

this car is great ! how can i purchase this car ?

Comment by Jon 06.20.08 @ 2:10 am

How do you put 4000+psi of air in without polluting?
“inexpensive to manufacture”
Yeah shopping carts are also inexpensive to manufacture. Notice I’m not riding around in one.

Comment by lol 06.28.08 @ 10:02 pm

I love this air car and would love to own one, and/or have a dealership here in the USA.

We need this car

Comment by JCNisbet 07.07.08 @ 3:35 pm

I am so excited about this car I tell every one
I know about it and it’s surprising how many
people know about it. Idon’t know how to do it
But I wish some one would start some kind of a
patition of some sort.

Comment by Rich Ivansek 07.11.08 @ 10:46 am

It may be available in 2009 in India via Tata Motors.

You have read here about the advantages of this vehicle but there may be disadvantages as well. It
may have problems in either cold or hot weather or some other type of problem. There are and have many such developments over the years and most turn out to have some fatal flaw that prevents successful commercialization.

Only time will tell.

Comment by Bob Downs 07.21.08 @ 2:24 pm

i like the air car great idea. But read deeper the car requires a lot more air pressure than your regular air compressor can put out. It takes a special compressor which uses electricity to produce. And the idea that anybody would be stupid enough to dump batteries in a landfill when you can get money for them at the scrap metal yards.There is a huge amount of money in battery recycling.

Comment by shawn 07.21.08 @ 5:49 pm

I wonder if the USA will allow them to be marketed here? I wonder about safety regulations and road worthiness that the US may use to refuse to allow us to have them. I believe our gov’t is in cahoots with the oil companies and perhaps they don’t want the competition. Is someone looking into this?

Comment by Gina Lovin 08.16.08 @ 10:05 pm

I wonder if this car has all the required US safety certifications in place. The car looks flimsy from a safety standpoint. Then there’s the electrical, does it have radios, brakes, air condition, heater, etc. we’ve all come to love on our basic vehicles.

If you stripped away all this stuff and could only drive these during the day, now who wants one?

Note: I’m not saying they are stripped down. But from the looks of the pictures, seems to have lots missing we’ve kind of gotten use to in our cars these days. And most of these are energy hogs. Where is the energy going to come from since the engine has moderate torgue?

Comment by Robert Grothe 05.26.09 @ 8:33 pm

The air powered car is the only hope of the future, Using solar and wind generators to charge a bank of batteries to run the compressor to build and store air at optimum times is the answer. The negative attitude toward batteries is not justified. As a retired truck driver I can guarantee you car batteries are the most efficently recycle product in the world. Even nore so than aluminum and plastics. Even the cases are ground and reused. You need to do a little research instead of blowing off hot air. There is enough of that in the world.

Comment by Richard Ryan 10.16.09 @ 4:23 pm

the aircar was supposed to start production in southafrica in 2001. what happened ?

Comment by schubert 12.08.10 @ 8:29 am

I’m an avid Ford hybrid owner but I won’t hesitate shifting to the French Air Car if primarily it has zero fuel emission. I would love to try out the air car.

Comment by Stacie Smith 04.01.11 @ 9:23 pm

Please make the air car available world wide, I’m sure earth-loving people will support it. Go go air car!

Comment by Aubrey Ann 04.02.11 @ 2:14 pm



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