And we have lots to tell you about what Air Vehicle inventor Guy Negre and
his development team in Carros, France, are doing, including the October 9
announcement of a new Air Vehicle city transport solution called the AIRPod.
Also, all the Air Vehicles get new names!

When will the 4-door, six-seat US model be available? They expect it to be
manufactured in the US in 2010. They originally planned to take reservations for
the vehicle in 2008 but now plan do so in mid-2009 as we now anticipate demand
to far exceed the early production capability.

New AIRPod Urban Transporter Unveiled

A new compressed air vehicle has been welcomed into the MDI family. On October
9 MDI unveiled its answer to the need for clean air and urban mobility – the
AIRPod.  With its low price, zero pollution, high range and playful and futuristic
design, the AIRPod marks a turning point in the nexus of automobile and urban
transportation. And it will cost less than a Euro per 200 km to operate and will
leave no one stuck in traffic jams. The vehicle will be proposed for the City of
Paris’ AutoLib contract.

FlowAIR: Air Vehicle Gets a New Name

The air vehicles now have the model names that will be seen stamped on the
lightweight panels of the final production cars. MDI has announced the model
names it will use on its market models.  The overall car brand will be the FlowAIR.
The existing prototypes will retain thier first names to now become the One FlowAIR,
Mini FlowAIR, and City FlowAIR.  The urban public transportation concept vehicles
will be know as the Multi FlowAIR.  2-door Economy Car Now Undergoing Road Testing

At the New York car show in March this year, MDI and Zero Pollution Motors unveiled
MDI’s new economy/utility 2-door vehicle. At the time, MDI’s new compressed air
engine had not been fully tested in the design. Testing has since started and
reports from the MDI factory in Nice, France are that the engine and vehicle are
performing to expectations.

Economy model at New York Car Show

MDI Group, the French developer of the compressed air vehicle, and Zero Pollution
Motors (ZPM) showcased MDI’s newest compressed air vehicle at this year’s New York
International Auto Show (NYIAS) today, March 20. The vehicle was unveiled for for
its first public appearance ever at the Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) booth at the show
(see pictures). The economy/utility model will be produced by MDI for sale in France
and elsewhere in 2009 at a price of beginning at around $5,000-$6,000 for the basic
model.

New Supplemental Energy Engine Increases Air Car Range and Speed: How Does It Do
It?

What is so great about the new supplemental-energy compressed air engine (CAE)?
It will dramatically increase both range and speed — to the tune of 800 miles and
up to 100 mph — while producing much lower emissions than a conventional car engine
of the same power.

How does it work? Guy Negre and his MDI team have essentially taken the mono-energy
engine used in the Air Car prototype and added a supplementary energy source of
either fossil fuel (petrol, diesel or LPG) or biofuel (vegetable oil, alcohol,
biodiesel or even gas) to heat the compressed air inside a “heating chamber” as
it enters the engine. This process increases the volume of the compressed air.
The result is more sustained power to the engine, increasing vehicle range and
speed.

The heating chamber kicks in when the vehicle’s speed exceeds 35 miles per hour
or when the compressed-air tanks are empty. When in fuel mode, the car’s moto-
alternator refills the tank with compressed air as the vehicle moves. The new CAE
is expected to propel the MDI air car models at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour,
produce a range of over 800 miles from an 8-gallon tank of gas, and a fuel efficiency
of 106 MPG equivalent when in fuel-mode.

Of course, when operating on supplementary fuel the dual-energy engine — unlike
the mono-energy engine — does produce C02 emissions, but very little: only 0.158lbs
of CO2 per mile. This is up to 4 times less than the average vehicle and 2 times less
than the cleanest vehicle available today. (Toyota Prius 07 Emissions: 0.34 lbs of
CO2 per mile. Source: http://www.hybridcars.com)

Air Vehicle Entered in $10m X Prize Contest to Build Super-efficient Autos

MDI & ZPM Official Contenders

Early in 2007, Zero Pollution Motors and MDI were among the first to submit a
vehicle to compete for the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize. We recognized
that the X Prize was exactly what was needed to help move automobile production
toward more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly alternatives. ZPM president
Shiva Vencat applauded the X Prize “for challenging the industry to embrace new ways
of thinking and breakthrough technology that will lessen its impact on the health of
the planet.” We saw the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE as presenting the ideal
opportunity for a vehicle powered by compressed air technology to be evaluated and
recognized as a viable alternative for the automobile industry – one that addresses
head on the issues of oil dependence and climate change caused by CO2 emissions.
The Progressive Automotive X Prize has since received widespread coverage and praise
for its initiative and Progressive insurance has announced a $10 million sponsorship
of the prize. A series of road races will be conducted beginning in 2009 that will
pit more than 120 teams, from 28 states and 17 countries, against each other. They
will compete for their share of a $10 million prize purse, which will be awarded
to those that can design and build production-capable, 100 MPGe (miles per gallon
energy equivalent) vehicles that people will want to buy and that meet market needs
for price, size, capability, safety and performance. More at www.progressiveautoxprize.com

This is exciting news!  I want one!!!! 

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