Matthew Engel

I seriously hope this company takes off !! (No pun intended) But seriously, a car that runs on compressed gas? How genius is that! Big thanks to my brother Seth for pointing this out to me. I am seriously excited about this technology, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre . Think about how a car which produces zero emissions, travels long range with low horsepower could transform commuting in America today, reinvigorate our automotive culture and promote environmental awareness? Would these vehicles be socially acceptable? What if, the vehicle cost $17,800 and could travel up to 1,000 miles with one fill up and a top speed of 96mph? Granted, a 75-horsepower engine may not sound impressive, but when you consider that Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) is selling a car capable of running on compressed air, the feat becomes remarkable.

Popular Mechanics reports that ZPM, a New Paltz, N.Y. start up, has acquired licensing rights from MDI- the original Luxembourg-based inventor of the compressed air engine and plans to begin manufacturing in the Northeast U.S. by 2009. MDI is an exciting young french company, which self reports financial investment from AirFrance. In my brief international expereince, I have found that most other countries are embracing new clean technologies, leaving the U.S. in the dust. Europe and India are already deploying many small, fuel-efficient vehicles which are profitable. Where is the American part of that equation? When you ask Ford or GMC, they show a complete lack of global integration into the American market, which may eventually be their downfall if they continue to produce vehicles reliant on petroleum.

In 2007, it was reported that the original Air Car, called CityCAT would only be marketed in India’s most congested cities for a retail price of $12,700 with a range of 125 miles hitting 68 mph. It would be forced to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air-compressors, requiring $2 for to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi in just a few minutes. However, the car also sports a built in air compressor which can self-refuel the vehicle in four hours when plugged into the electrical grid. For all the skeptics, I would highly recommend reading MDI’s engine technology pages off their homepage, which go into much more detail than I have at this time. Enjoy and good luck!

This is a big step.  I have been following the development of Tesla Motors for two years, and they are finally hitting mainstream! Tesla has been achieving public recognition for their contribution to the development and public acceptance of the electric vehicle. Here, we have the world’s first electric powered sports car which can compete in terms of performance with a Chevy Corvette, Porsche, or Ferrari. Not only that, but it was engineered and manufactured in the United States. This is something I can be truly proud of.

The Tesla was designed to break the stereotype that electric cars are slow and unsightly. Unfortunately, this has traditionally been the case when one considers the Honda Insight or even hybrid-gasoline powered cars such as the Toyota Prius. The styling of these cars leave much to be desired. The Tesla beats all hybrid vehicles hands-down by eliminating the need for all petroleum for fueling. This is superior even to the much touted Chevy Volt, which still requires gasoline for daily driving and with a 50 mile projected range for battery only power. This is in stark contrast to the Tesla which offers roughly 240 miles on a single charge.

The car can be charged at home or on the road in roughly 3.5 hours. The instrument panel contains an indicator to display the current battery capacity, analogous to the typical fuel gauge. Above is an image of a Tesla Roadster being charged, with a close up of the plug. The image was supplied by a Tesla Roadster blog which contains some cool images. Below, I found what is now a very rare site – an actual image of an owner charging his electric vehicle. You can notice he actually owns two cars and the plugs are extended from a charging base to the vehicle parked in his driveway.