Air Powered Cars Could Be on the Way

First posted on 11-05-2008

A new car maker is trying to rush to market with an environmentally friendly air powered vehicle.

Zero Pollution Motors is hoping to introduce a compressed air vehicle, or CAV, that will sell for around $20,000 and tool around all day powered by air along with a touch of cooking oil, ethanol or gasoline.

The technology used to power the CAV has been around for years and pretty much simply uses compressed air to drive typical engine pistons instead of burning gasoline to do the same thing.

The vehicle is able to cruise along at a top speed of 35 miles per hour for up to 60 miles on one tank of compressed air. For highway travel, a small motor can compress outside air and keep the tank filled. That engine is able to run on gasoline, diesel, ethanol or the oil used to cook your fries. With a constantly replenished tank, the CAV can run at 65 to 70 miles per hour with an 800 mile range. That equates to about 106 miles per gallon on regular gasoline.

The air tank can be filled for short jaunts by plugging the car into a wall socket so its electric motor can compress air to refill the tank.

Current plans call for building about 8,000 CAV’s a year beginning in 2011 and selling them directly to consumers rather than using the traditional route of selling through car dealerships. The manufacturing concept calls for at least one CAV plant to be constructed in every state, more in states with a higher number of drivers.

Tata, the Indian car maker, has already purchased the rights to build CAV’s for the rapidly expanding automobile market in India.

Photo courtesy of Zero Pollution Motors’ website.