Is it a bird? Is it a plane?, no, it’s the new super compressed air charged mini-me car. Welcome to the MID AirPod; a 3-wheeled vehicle which runs on compressed air. This snazzy little hoover on wheels, promises to be the next generation in vehicular transport.

Benefits of the AirPod

• Produces zero emissions.
• Runs on compressed-air.
• Seats three, and does a whopping 28mph.
• Can travel 135 miles on one tank of compressed air.
• Perfect solution for an inner-city transportation system.
• Ready for production mid-2009.

Overview

The aptly named AirPod; well it does after all look like a pea-pod, and it does run on air, hence the name AirPod. Although it measures 6.7 feet long and weighs only 485 pounds, it hosts an impressive 175 litre compressed air tank, which only takes a couple of minutes to fill up.

The most exciting feature of this ‘pea mobile’ is the fact that it is estimated to cost only 6,000 Euros. Initial market entries include France and India.

However…, whether we will see this type of transportation hit the main-stream is highly unlikely. Instead, our governments would rather invest our money in unnecessary wars.

Did you know that the Iraq War costs over $340 million a DAY to fund! Hmm, just think what a tenth of that money could do if it were spent on the research and development of alternative energy technologies.

Downsides of the AirPod

• Don’t have a crash in it, whatever you do. Ouch. Mushy peas anyone.
• Compressing air is an inefficient process.
• We shan’t see a proliferation of devices such as the AirPod any time soon, for the simple fact that the infrastructure isn’t in place yet; namely air-compressor stations. The same problem exists with hydrogen-powered vehicles. Only a handful of hydrogen stations exist in the UK.
• No doubt the AirPod will follow the same slow death of the Tesla Car.
• Perhaps, once the oil oligarchs have had their fill of ‘black gold’ will we start to see such alternative technologies come to fruition, finally allowing mankind to blossom into a brighter and cleaner future!

What are your thoughts?

Further Information

For more details, visit: -

• MDI AirPod website
• DeviceGuru AirPod

Popularity: 8% [?]

7 Responses to “A Car which Runs on Compressed Air – The ‘AirPod’”

1. Solar John Says:
   November 12th, 2008 at 12:15 am

   There must be a competition between auto makers to see who can come up with the silliest looking alternative energy car. When will they realize that what we want is an affordable car that is also safe, with decent range and a comfortable ride? It can be small, one passenger is OK for many of us, since we only need to use it for our work commute. It doesn’t need sports-car-like performance, or a sports-car price tag. Is that too much to ask? The first car company that can do that will be successful beyond their wildest dreams. But few people I know would want to be seen in something that looks like this.

   Solar John’s last blog post..Look to Engineers for a Change We Can Believe In

2. Sandra Says:
   November 12th, 2008 at 6:16 am

   What an interesting article. I agree with you when you say that innovative things like this AirPod are mostly convicted to slow death. It’s so sad to see so many original and human and eco friendly gadgets go away due to some minority who has “the power” over oil companies and similar industries.

   Sandra’s last blog post..The city of Ozalj

3. mharms Says:
   November 13th, 2008 at 12:06 am

   The car is cute. But I don’t think I can manage to ride in it.

   mharms’s last blog post..An Alternative To Hassle-Free Lawn Keeping

4. RKRAO Says:
   November 13th, 2008 at 12:52 am

   The TATA’s are producing an air car which will be on the road by end of 2009;pl go here to see this six seater-

   http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ImqMdkQNMASjvIb5I_QQqQ?authkey=H9irvwtwj58

5. harish Says:
   November 13th, 2008 at 7:27 am

   Very good one…
   In fact I have been following this technology for at least one year through http://www.theaircar.com

   harish’s last blog post..Nifty Future Analysis Based on Hourly Chart

6. Mustang Says:
   November 18th, 2008 at 4:34 am

   This car looks interesting, however the price is going to be important. In colder area’s with snow this vehicle is not going to work.

7. Grumpy Says:
   March 4th, 2009 at 4:49 am

   It is always good to see to see someone coming up with new ideas to lesson the emmisons and the inviroment. But you are right to bad the goverment would rather invest in unessesary wars.

   Grumpy’s last blog post..What Was I Thinking?

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