CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I agree if one is environmentally conscious. Problem is, most people really only care about MPG. When it comes to hybrids, that is really all I care about as well. The only reason I'm interested in better MPG is because the cost of fuel. Because of that, it means I'm interested in saving money. Hybrid prices are coming down so that is good news. I actually don't care about which technology wins in the long run. I only care about cheap MPG. Whichever technology can bring to the market great MPG while being very affordable gets my vote.

Heck, that said, I'm really impressed with the compressed air car. I want to see that come to the USA and further develop that technology.

SLegacy99

Its alot easier to make a hybrid go fast than a diesel.

RXSF

did you see that on the discovery channel? lol i saw an episode on that recently! great invention.

to those who do care about the environment though, were all going to die ine like 50 years unless we do something. its very depressing. im definately going to get me one of those hydrogen fuel cell vehicles when they start becoming mainstream

Bean

iTrader: (1)

With the sheer amount of cars on the road in America, going to diesels would be a bad move. Diesel engines are dirty compared to petrol engines; we'd be polluting even more than we already are.

Even though it wouldnt affect the global warming trend (scientists are predicting a cooling trend coming on now btw, I'm sure we'll hear the ice age arguments soon), it still does other manners of pollution that kills off wildlife and does other bad things.

Nextourer

lol. Already done. A few Prius have been modded with Li-Ion batteries or simply had an extra NiMH battery added (it's like carrying an extra person all the time) to extend the range of the battery (EV mode) as well as being able to capture more energy via recharging.

They've always started at $20k. They top out at $28k with leather, HIDs, bluetooth, nav and camera.

Maybe you were talking about the "market adjustment" pricing back in 2004/2005??

TOM'S makes exhaust systems, no intake. TOM'S or TRD makes good front/rear braces and TRD makes lowering springs (if the Touring edition ones aren't good enough). Body kits are available through KENSTYLE, Modellista and so forth.

I talked to a person over at Italy. He said the diesels aren't that great. The only reason why so many people buy it is because diesel fuel used to be cheaper than petrol (it's closing in on par in many countries because of the new low sulphur diesel fuel) and you get company tax breaks if it's used as a company car (because countries like the UK give tax breaks to low CO2-emitting cars). The cleanest diesel here in the US (with the ULSD and AdBlue) is only as clean as your standard petrol car. It's rated as a Tier 2 bin 5 or ULEV-II. All your new Lexus models are ULEV-II except the hybrids which are Tier 2 Bin 3 or SULEV (plus they get AT-PZEV rating because of zero evaporative emissions).

Toyota has a recycling plant for the NiMH batteries. Had to shut down half its operation since not many batteries were making it to the factory. Most of the salvaged ones are being re-used.

-J-P-L-

Go Toyota!

And to think that most companies thought Toyota made a mistake when it released the first Prius because they thought there was no market for it. Think GM. Now who's laughing.

-J-P-L-

That's why "Prius" will soon be it's own brand.

-J-P-L-

And yet it's a small number when compared to the F-150, Silverado, Camry, Accord, Corolla, and Civic. Those sell more than McDonald's sells double cheeseburgers.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Yes, I guess it was Discovery Channel. I heard about it but it was the first time I actually saw it on that episode. The neat thing about it is the nitrogen compressor, or whatever they were using to fill the tanks ran off compressed air or something like that. At the end they mentioned once the tech advances a bit to make those compressors smaller, the car itself can be self sustaining and never need to externally fill the tanks. That would be cool. Over all I can't see any down side at all.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

so where can i buy this license to violate the laws of thermodynamics

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I'm definitely no expert on thermo or fluid dynamics, but this is the published literature from the company. Maybe you can read about it and let us know why or why not this will work. All I know is they are going into production in Europe so I'm guessing something works.

http://www.theaircar.com/data_sheet.html
http://www.theaircar.com

100plus

Thats true, diesels are pretty disgusting. But im going by the argument that people just wanted to save money at the pump first and cleanliness of the earth second. How many Prius's sold just cause of the gas hike of over 3 dollars/ gallon? Of course the all electric powered cars are coming in, as well as hydrogen powered cars (Honda FCX Clarity for example) but only to the states that hydrogen pump stations.

Stelth91

GM's BlueDiesel technology will change a lot of the bad emissions of diesel. The sulfur content of the exhaust will decrease 10 fold, from 500 ppm to just 5 ppm (parts per million) when this finishes.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

a self sustaining energy system is basically impossible because that would mean 100% efficiency, nothing anywhere can achieve 100% efficiency you will always have losses somewhere. Something will have to be recharged on that compressed air car sometime. There are always energy losses through heat, friction, and noise that rob efficiency. In a nutshell, you cant bounce energy back and forth without losses, you can most certainly try to recover as much as you can but you can never recover 100%

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Oh, okay. Now I understand what part you were talking about. I thought you meant about the air car itself. That compressor thing I just heard on that episode on Discovery, so it may not have been the companies statement but the commentators. It may have had something to do with the on board generator powering a compressor or something, so I may have misunderstood exactly what they said.