"My vision is a clean world, where everybody is using clean energy”. Guy Nègre´s dream seems to come true in the future. The French engine designer wants to supply the whole world with the cheapest commodity in the world – compressed air.
AIR! Can you imagine?
Ok, the idea ist not completely new. Already in 1860 compressed air was used for huge drills to build up a tunnel between France and Italy.
While in Europe they still working and testing on prototyps, India kicks it off.
Last year India’s largest automaker, Tata Motors, announced to start producing the world’s first commercial air-powered vehicle. This summer about 6000 Air Cars are scheduled to hit the streets in India.

The Air Car uses a motor powered by compressed air. The uniqueness about the so called City Cat is its claim to offer zero emissions at the tailpipe without batteries or hydrogen fuel. Just to make it clear: Zero (0!) emissions. Even a dog has more emissions at the “pipeline”!The Air Cars can be refueled at “Air Stations”. Filling up the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air takes about two minutes and costs only around $2 (!). Ok, in India that almost a monthly salary, but for us it`s like a can of beer. With a speed about 68 mph the City Cats have a range of 125 miles.
Deals have been signed to bring the Air Cars to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.
So, is the CATvolution really taking over and saving the world from a climate catastrophe?! Or is it just a drop in a bucket and should we rather banish cows from the grassland?
Watch a Video about the Air Car hereImages: hybridarenews.org

It sounds like a miracle: cars that accelerate as fast as sports cars and consume as little as compact cars. BMW names this technology simply “EfficientDynamics” – which, yes, gets to the point - but of some sort understates the fact of the grand innovative leap BMW has taken with its new technology.
EfficientDynamics in short means a bundle of energy saving measures, concerning engine, gearbox and auxiliary equipment. The basic principle is that the car only uses the functions that are necessary at the moment. So when the car stops so does the engine. Servo steering, air condition and some aerodynamic functions are also controlled in an intelligent way. Above all the system regenerates breaking energy to charge the battery.

It enables the new BMW 520d - with a powerful 177 hp four-cylinder diesel engine - to an average consumption of only 5,1 Liter (138 g CO2/km). Remember, it’s a full size sedan that accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 7,9 seconds!
Efficiency is key to stay dynamic in climate changing times, says BMW and takes their efficient dynamics development now one step further: To be introduced in fall 2007 the BMW top-selling 3 Series will be equipped with new efficient motors (four-cylinder gas and diesel engines), reducing the overall emissions significantly. That makes it altogether 22 models for the German market which will fall into the category EfficientDynamics in 2008. Or in other words (numbers): 40 percent of all new cars by BMW Group (BMW, MINI, Rolls Royce) produce less than 140 gramm CO2/km, among them three MINI models.
BMW 520d
Best of all though: less emissions don’t necessarily have to come with less or let’s say reduced engine power, ergo: less driving pleasure.
It’s the opposite: more power, less consumption. Here’s the ultimative proof: the BMW 123d new generation, also equipped with a four-cylinder engine and a variable Twin Turbo(150kW/204 hp) speeds up from zero to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds by having an average fuel consumption of 5,2 litre and CO2 emissions of 138 g/km. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Fun in series… pleasure of driving!
Fotos: website