Now Here Is A Car That Perks Up My Interest

[GaryKD]

Go here to read the high level overview. One of the Discovery Channel's programs had a segment on this car. It really caught my attention. For an around town or towed vehicle this has my interest. I'll be ready to test drive it when they are approved for USA sales.

[GaryKD]

Go here to read the high level overview. One of the Discovery Channel's programs had a segment on this car. It really caught my attention. For an around town or towed vehicle this has my interest. I'll be ready to test drive it when they are approved for USA sales.

[TXiceman]

You have to look at the car for it's total carbon footprint. Somewhere, somehow, you have to compress the air and you will be using a fuel source to drive the compressor for this job. The compressor will be driven by an electric motor which will require an electric generating system that will be coal, gas, water or wind generator powered. It has an engine to drive the compressor, it will be driven by gasoline, a gas composition, diesel or something.

In essence it is no less polluting than a hybrid car like a Prius.

Ken

[rjf7g]

Ugly...

[Vette Racer]

You know. all this talk about the problems of the auto industry, what about the issue of money? As I see it, the main problem is the spendable income of the American/world people, and the main problem there is the increased cost of everything, due to the increased cost of Oil!

This one thing caused everything in the world to go up in price thus creating a problem causing people worldwide to not have enough spendable income to buy things other than what they had to have to exist. Now what part of this doesn't anyone else understand!!! I don't see an issue with any particular industry or anything else, it's just a problem with spendable income. MHO! No money, no buying!

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TXiceman:
You have to look at the car for it's total carbon footprint. Somewhere, somehow, you have to compress the air and you will be using a fuel source to drive the compressor for this job. The compressor will be driven by an electric motor which will require an electric generating system that will be coal, gas, water or wind generator powered. It has an engine to drive the compressor, it will be driven by gasoline, a gas composition, diesel or something.

In essence it is no less polluting than a hybrid car like a Prius.

Ken </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The engine is only a backup in case you can't make it to the fueling station. From what is on Tata's web site it looks like it uses two standard scuba tanks as its power source which my scuba friends tell me cost about $6 to fill with breathable air so Tata's claim of being able to fill it for $3 with a high speed compressor at a filling station or for pennies at home dosn't seem that far off.

Last month a car getting 40 miles to the $4 gallon used 10 cents worth of fuel every mile which breaks down to $100 to travel 1000 miles. At today's $2 a gallon we are looking at $50 to travel 1000 miles. The Tata if you don't loose track and run short would cost $3 to drive 1000 miles if you are using a filling station and less than $1 if you fill it at home.

Depending where you fill it the cost equivalent would be like getting over 650 MPG at a filling station and over 1000 MPG if you fill it at home. That could be like saving around 39 gallons of gasoline for every 1000 miles driven.

If they can pull this off the potential is very great. Some may be resistant to sitting on the two 3000 psi tanks of air used to power it.

Remember Jaws?

[TXiceman]

Looking at spendable income, I am spending more on everything and not making any more. SO as with a lot of Americans, time to cut back on the spending. I have a good car with only 48,000 miles on it and it gets about 27 on the highway and 20 mpg around town. The truck does not go much and is used for the trailer. I do not intend to buy anything for transportation until a newer and better technology is out for a year or two.

My money will stay in my pocket for now.

Ken