Another $@%#& French idea!

[Sixty8panther]

Pathetic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7241909.stm

Gotta love this kind of logic. How does all this air get compressed? By magic?

I'm certain that no fossil fuels will be burned to that end...

[Intrepidation]

It looks like ass and is probably less safe than that old Commodore BV posted.

[A Horse With No Name]

Seriously, with the smart car out I'd bet that we will see some interesting variations on "city cars."

This might actually work out to be a good idea for a city car in a small European city. However, it would suck major ass to drive that car across Wyoming.

Chris

[SuperSport623]

before i ever heard of this car, 4 years ago in eight grade my science fair project was an air compressed motor.... i modified a gas scooter motor with an air hose through the spark plug bore, and everytime the crank got to TDC, a bar on the crank would trip the trigger to release the small burst of air, etc etc.... it wasnt perfect, but i won the science fair against those homemade volcanos!

[vonVeezelsnider]

Definitely a French creation

[cletus8269]

before i ever heard of this car, 4 years ago in eight grade my science fair project was an air compressed motor.... i modified a gas scooter motor with an air hose through the spark plug bore, and everytime the crank got to TDC, a bar on the crank would trip the trigger to release the small burst of air, etc etc.... it wasnt perfect, but i won the science fair against those homemade volcanos!

unfortunately those volcanos have strenght in numbers, my 6ht grade science project i built a wind tunnel to demonstrate aerodynamics... it went swimingly until the blower fan seized up in the middle of the presentation. you win this round baking soda and vinegar...

[loki]

hey, toyota should "steal this idea and mix it with with the volt idea".... add a gasoline powered compressor so it's a hybrid. ta da! it gets 70 mpg! wooooo i'm genius!

cletus> what's up with the avatar?

[Intrepidation]

unfortunately those volcanos have strenght in numbers, my 6ht grade science project i built a wind tunnel to demonstrate aerodynamics... it went swimingly until the blower fan seized up in the middle of the presentation. you win this round baking soda and vinegar...

That's awesome, I built a wind tunnel for a science too in grade school.

[XP715]

Yeah, okay. The country that built an aircraft carrier too short to land a plane on is the country we're supposed to turn to for an engineering miracle when the fate of the entire planet and every living thing on it is at stake? If that's the case then I'll just keep driving the vehicles I like with 400+ cubic inch engines because we're all f@#ked anyways!

[Sixty8panther]

Well, the majority of the thousands of miles I've driven in the past few years

has been in big BOF, carburated V8 powered cars... all decent to large cu. in.

307

350

364

394

425

455

472

[XP715]

Hmm, let's see....

350 (x3)

425 (x3)

429 (x2)

460

472 (x2)

.... for a grand total of 5,012 cubic inches, and that's not counting all the vehicles with "normal" sized engines I've owned.

[Robert Hall]

Seriously, with the smart car out I'd bet that we will see some interesting variations on "city cars."

This might actually work out to be a good idea for a city car in a small European city. However, it would suck major ass to drive that car across Wyoming.

Chris

It's an interesting concept... Driving across Wyoming is pretty dull...I've done it twice on I-80. Big empty state.

[A Horse With No Name]

It's an interesting concept... Driving across Wyoming is pretty dull...I've done it twice on I-80. Big empty state.

Great place to go and hunt, and you can see the stars at night. Had a friend who used to live in Sundance, Wyoming. Actually think it would be cool to go there and see a rodeo or two.

But I would need to rent a Chevrolet pickemup to go there. I would be laughed out of the state with any of my current drivers!

Chris

[Robert Hall]

Great place to go and hunt, and you can see the stars at night. Had a friend who used to live in Sundance, Wyoming. Actually think it would be cool to go there and see a rodeo or two.

But I would need to rent a Chevrolet pickemup to go there. I would be laughed out of the state with any of my current drivers!

Chris

I want to go up and see Yellowstone and the Jackson area sometime.... both times I've driven across I-80 I was in a hurry to get from SLC to Denver...

[jcgable]

It's a cool concept! It's this kind of innovation that is needed to solve the world's energy problems. It may not be the most practical venture now, but give it 10 years and we could have a real option on our hands.

[Sixty8panther]

It's a cool concept! It's this kind of innovation that is needed to solve the world's energy problems. It may not be the most practical venture now, but give it 10 years and we could have a real option on our hands.

It's another case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

There's no such thing as FREE energy.

[Robert Hall]

It's another case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

There's no such thing as FREE energy.

No, but some pollute and consume less than others..

[Sixty8panther]

Moltar:

Do you really beleive this car is going to be more GREEN than an average,

comventional car of the same size/weight? Perhaps IF you can use an

electric compressor and never use electricity that came from fossil fuels

or contributes to the make-pretend concept of "global warming/dimming"

[Robert Hall]

Moltar:

Do you really beleive this car is going to be more GREEN than an average,

comventional car of the same size/weight? Perhaps IF you can use an

electric compressor and never use electricity that came from fossil fuels

or contributes to the make-pretend concept of "global warming/dimming"

Potentially....certainly has potential for clean city use. And remember, the concept is French..don't they get their electricity from nuclear power?

It's certainly cleaner than a 30yr old carburated car..

Edited February 27, 2008 by moltar

[Sixty8panther]

Yeah, nuclear power is fantastic... on paper.

The pollution resulting from it & the massive

amounts of heat it generates is nothing?!

(for the record I'm a supporter of nuclear power)

As far as my carburated Cadillac it's more CAR

than any pathetic French car will EVER be!

But last time I checked the average French

pansy-boy does NOT drive a '77 Coupe deVille

with a carburated 7.0 liter V8. This "car" was

"invented" to replace pieces of pathetic crap

like some 1.4 liter, four-cylinder Renault or

perhaps a 1.6 liter Opel.

The only French cars NOT deserving or the

crusher early and often are pre-war Bugattis.

Edited February 27, 2008 by Sixty8panther

[lakefire]

Don't forget that most of France's energy does come from Nuclear power. If they are all running air powered cars that have been filled from the grid that is EXTREMELY earth friendly.

The only "pollution" is the steam. The downsides of nuclear power is if you have a melt down, and storing of the waste materials.

[ToniCipriani]

I think the idea is you can replace those plastic gas canisters with blow-up dolls...

Oh wait... they're made of plastic so we're still dependent on petroleum... OH NOES!!!

[Sixty8panther]

Exactly.... so once again:

There's only TWO downsides to nuclear power:

1. small risk of meltdown (accidental or terrorism)

2. Storage/disposal of nuclear waste.

That's not exactly the silver bullet I'd hope for in

terms of eliminating our dependance on fossil

fuels! Again, I'm a supporter of Nucler power but

I think that Hydrogen is the best solution.