By Debbie Maskin, IEN Staff
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August 15, 2008 --Sounds too good to be true: a car that runs on air at over 90 mph, gets 106 gas-equivalent mpg, has zero to low C02 emissions, seats 6, has space for luggage, and costs about $18,000. That's the product New York-based Zero Pollution Motors is promising to deliver late in 2009. Tne company has obtained a license from MDI, developer of the technology, to manufacture the car in the U.S. (Photo Courtesy: Zero Pollution Motors)
Built with fiberglass and injected foam, the Compressed Air Vehicle will not rust and is easier to repair than conventional cars. Its impact-resistant chassis, composed of aluminum rods glued together in a fashion similar to aircraft construction, is said to be stronger than a welded chassis. As for safety, the carbon fiber air tanks with thermoplastic lining, which are located under the floor, will only crack on impact and let air escape, not explode.
Since the vehicle runs exclusively on compressed air, it emits only air, which, as it turn out, is actually cleaner than the air used to fill the tank because it passes through carbon filters that remove impurities and pollutants. At speeds over 35 mph the car uses small amounts of gasoline, propane, ethanol, or biofuels to heat air inside a heating chamber as it enters the engine. This process produces emissions of only 0.141 lb of CO2 per mile—up to 4 times less than the average vehicle and more than 2 times less than the cleanest vehicle available today. (Toyota Prius 07 Emissions: 0.34 lbs of CO2 per mile. Source)
Using a radio transmission system, each electrical component receives signals with a microprocessor so only one signal cable is used for the entire car, instead of each component being wired separately. Headlights, dashboard, and other components are all connected via wiring harness to speed installation and repair. As soon as you remove your key from the car, the entire system becomes an anti-theft alarm.
The air vehicle can be refilled with air at home or in your garage by plugging it into a normal power outlet. The compressed air tank is also automatically refilling at higher speeds.
The ECO Pedal
If you like pushing the pedal to the metal, you probably won't be looking forward to the arrival of Nissan’s 2009 vehicles equipped with an ECO Pedal system, which makes the gas pedal press upward when it senses that you’re applying excessive pressure, in other words, speeding up too quickly and wasting gas. The system calculates the most efficient rate of acceleration in a vehicle based on how fast fuel is being burned and other factors, and then lets you know you could be using more fuel than required. Even though it is expected to improve fuel efficiency 5–10%, I'm guessing that most drivers will choose the option to switch the system off.
The system is fed data on the rate of fuel consumption and transmission efficiency during acceleration and cruising, and then calculates the optimum acceleration rate. When the driver exerts excess pressure on the accelerator, the system counteracts with the pedal push-back control mechanism. Simultaneously, a panel indicator displays the optimal level for fuel-efficient driving. Within the optimal fuel consumption range, the indicator is green. It begins to flash when it detects increased acceleration before reaching the fuel consumption threshold, and then turns amber to advise the driver that he or she is driving inefficiently. (Photo Courtesy: Nissan)