1 On Jan 11, 04:20 am, Californication wrote:

The answer for what? More pollution? More fuel consumption?

It gets worse fuel economy than a Citroen Deux Chaveaux introduced in 1948. It runs on gasoline, and all the world needs is for millions of additional cars on the road to compete for what will be increasingly limited oil supplies.

Having the Nano available in the US sounds good until you consider that there’s no way they’d pass muster in safety standards, so they couldn’t be made available for $2,500 here. For staters, they have no air bags. The Nano’s top speed is 65 mph, but the wheel bearings will wear out quickly at sustained speeds over 45 mph, so it couldn’t be used on our highways without major re-engineering.

Granted we need to convince more people to get out of their giant SUVs who only use them for commuting, trips to the grocery store or to gratify their egos, but I think there are better answers than the gasoline burning Nano.

3 On Jan 11, 08:51 am, THartill wrote:

One of my co-workers just bought an old Isuzu Pick-up. We were discussing the diesel version that gets 38-40 mpg….this engine came out in the early 80’s and Isuzu even had a 4-wheel drive version. Imagine a truck getting 40mpg today. It’s like we are going backwards with technology. Something is fishy.

5 On Jan 13, 10:48 am, Emil Nyberg wrote:

Here is the full article and also a second article on a compressed air car. Patrick if we could extend the range or devise a way for the shocks to compress air at every bump just might be on to something

The $2,500 Car: An Environmental Nightmare?
India’s Tata Motors Unveils Ultracheap $2,500 Car, Bringing Car Ownership Into Millions’ Reach
By GAVIN RABINOWITZ
The Associated Press
NEW DELHI
India’s Tata Motors on Thursday unveiled its much anticipated $2,500 car, an ultra-cheap price tag that brings car ownership into the reach of tens of millions of people. But critics worry the car could overwhelm the country’s roads and create an environmental nightmare.
Company Chairman Ratan Tata, introducing the Nano during India’s main auto show, drove onto a stage in a white version of the tiny four-door subcompact, his head nearly touching the roof.
With a snub nose and a sloping roof, the world’s cheapest car can fit five people if they squeeze. And the basic version is spare: there’s no radio, no passenger-side mirror and only one windshield wiper. If you want air conditioning to cope with India’s brutal summers, you need to get the deluxe version.
While the price has created a buzz, critics say the Nano could lead to possibly millions more automobiles hitting already clogged Indian roads, adding to mounting air and noise pollution problems. Others have said Tata will have to sacrifice quality and safety standards to meet the target price.
The chairman, though, insists the car will meet safety standards and pollute even less than motorcycles, passing domestic and European emission standards and averaging about 50 miles per gallon (20 kilometers per liter).
Chief U.N. climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, who shared last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said last month that “I am having nightmares” about the prospect of the low-cost car.
“Dr. Pachauri need not have nightmares,” Ratan Tata said at the unveiling. “For us it’s a milestone and I hope we can make a contribution to the country.”
The basic model will sell for for 100,000 rupees $2,500 but analysts estimate that customers could pay 20-30 percent more than that to cover taxes, delivery and other charges.
Tata has long promised that he’d create a 100,000-rupee car, a vow that was much-derided in the global industry but created a frenzy of attention in India. On Thursday, nearly every news station covered the unveiling live.
“A promise is a promise,” Tata told the crowd.
The company has said they expect the car to revolutionize the auto industry, and analysts believe the Nano may force other manufacturers to lower their own pricing. French automaker Renault SA and its Japanese partner, Nissan Motor Co., are trying to determine if they can sell a compact car for less than $3,000.
For now, the car will be sold only in India, but Tata has said it eventually hopes to export it. The Nano could become the basis for other similar super-cheap models in developing markets around the world.
As rising middle class incomes drive demand for cars in India, automakers expect the ranks of car owners in the country to expand dramatically in coming years.
But for some, a huge influx of cars is a terrifying prospect of traffic jams at midnight, hours-long commutes and increasing pollution.
“If you’re talking about urban environment, it will cause serious problems,” said Jamie Leather, a transport specialist with the Asian Development Bank. “It’s a major concern.”
In 2005, Indian vehicles released 219 million tons of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
By 2035, that number is projected to increase to 1,467 million tons, due largely to the expanding middle-class and the expected rise of low-cost cars, according to the Asian Development Bank.
“The cheaper and cheaper vehicles become, the quicker those pollution levels will increase,” Leather said.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Subject: Re: New Economic Model might bring innovation

This is too cool. They will be selling them in India very soon (cheap too).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4

Subject: New Economic Model might bring innovation

French compressed air car set for take-off in India
Mon Jan 7, 2008 5:50pm IST
By Pierre Thebault
CARROS, France – A car that runs on air?
What seemed like a pipe dream may soon become reality as Frenchman Guy Negre hopes versions of his compressed air car will be produced in India this year by Tata Motors Ltd after a 15 year quest for backers for his invention.
Negre believes the time is right for his design with oil prices at record highs and pressure on carmakers to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles.
“It is clear that with oil at $100 a barrel this will force people to change their use of fuel and pollute less,” Negre told Reuters in an interview at his firm Motor Development International (MDI), based near Nice in the south of France.
“My car is zero pollution in town and almost no pollution on the highways,” he added, saying the vehicle could travel 100 kilometres at a cost of one euro in fuel.
The former Formula One motor racing engineer’s invention depends on pressurised air to move the pistons, which in turn help to compress the air again in a reservoir. The engine also has an electric motor, which needs to be periodically recharged, to top up the air pressure.
The bottles of compressed air—similar to those used by divers—can be filled up at service stations in several minutes.
EXTENDED RANGE
The latest versions of the cars—MDI made an entire series of prototypes of engines and vehicles—also include a fuel engine option to extend the car’s range when not in reach of a special power plug or service station.
Tata, India’s largest carmaker with revenue of $7.2 billion in its last financial year, concluded a deal in 2007, investing 20 million euros. Pre-production in India is set for 2008, Negre said.
The vehicle, protected by some 50 patents, will cost some 3,500 to 4,000 euros. Using composite materials, it will weigh not more than 330 kilos and its maximum speed is 150 kilometres per hour.
“The lighter the vehicle, the less it consumes and the less its pollutes and the cheaper it is; it’s simple,” Negre said.
MDI’s models which typically have a rounded shape a bit like a speech balloon in a cartoon include the Minicat urban vehicle, the Citycat for longer distances with an added tank for ethanol, diesel or bio-fuel and a taxi version.
Negre said he aimed to set up mini factories in regions where the car is used. “No transport, no parts suppliers. Everything will be made at the place of sale in production units that can make one car per half hour,” said Negre.
“That is more profitable, more ecological than the big factories of the large carmakers.”
Negre is not the only inventor working on compressed air engines. Urugay’s Armando Regusci, Australia’s Angelo di Pietro and South Korea’s Chul-Seung Cho have also produced designs.
But Negre has the backing of Tata, whose global ambitions were last week underscored when it was named preferred buyer of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motor Co.

7 On Jan 14, 11:15 am, Patrick McGee wrote:

The crux of all this is that it is encouraging that someone is exploring a use of new and alternate technologies in an industry that seems to, every year, pull further and further away from the reach of those that cannot and don’t necessarily need to comply with the mainstream markets.

On top of all else, the more advanced the beneficial technology to save energy and be more economical, the higher the damned price.

Of course this vehicle will be poo-pooed simply becuase it scares the hell oput of the Status Quo but, $2500.00?

Like I said, I’ll take one right now, drive the hell out of it till I have to throw it away and leave that new Toyota of ours parked till we need to go on a long trip.