It’s ugly and I want one!
Imagine if you will, a car with zero emissions, goes 68 mph, has a range of up to 186 miles, and doesn’t use a drop of gasoline.
Moteur Developpment International is about to go into production with just such a vehicle. Sadly, it won’t be available in the USA any time soon.
You can read all about it’s amazing engine on the website. It runs on compressed air and uses 1 liter of vegetable oil as a lubricant, which needs only be changed once every 31,000 miles.
They’re also talking about building a hybrid engine that has the ability to also burn gasoline (or diesel, ethanol, etc), , so you can go further distances (the on board computer will automatically switch from air to gas when needed).
While it probably wouldn’t be your first choice in vehicles to drive across the country in, it makes perfect sense for a metro commuter (I drive 34 miles a day to and from work… a tank of air would last me a week, the same as a tank of gas does now).
They expect the price to be about $11,000 (which is stupid cheap, since you don’t need to pay for much else after you buy it).
Yes indeed… I want one!
Here’s a photo gallery of some of the models they’re proposing to sell in India.
7 comments7 Comments so far
The YUGO lives again. Might consider it as an alternate to the spare tire in my Caddy as it looks like it would probably fit in the trunk. Take a moment to think about all the companies that have moved their customer service phones to India and ask yourself, Do I really want a car that was built by idiots like those on the customer service phones????????
A better idea would be to put it in the back of your Dad’s trunk and then you could go even further. It was so nice of him to offer to take you and your new car back and forth to work.
Not practical for here, but hitchin’ a ride in yer Dad’s Caddy sounds like a good way to go:)
I’m sure that once gasoline in the USA hits the prices that every other country in the world pays, you’ll change your tune on a vehicle like this.
The engine is also very scalable, so they can create one with more power and longer range.
Once they become available overseas, I am going to look into what it would take to get one shipped here. This makes far more sense than the current choices (hybrids) and is perfect for in town driving.
Plus, it looks like an angry ninja turtle!
Sounds like a great commuter, esp. for those of us who drive from CDA to Spo for work (wait, what the hell am I saying, I work from home).
Looks similar to the Smart Car that I saw in Italy last summer…
http://www.jitteryjim.com/gallery/albums/userpics/Italy07-2006-155.jpg
Tone, life is strange at times. I saw a “Smart Car” today with Canadian plates (N.B.) exiting the supermarket parking lot. By the time I got turned around it had disappeared. I didn’t know they were even available this side of the pond. Could be a “gray market” car I suppose. Cute little sucker:)
They are going to start selling the Smart Car in the USA next year. I want one of those too!
Yeah… I’m totally into ugly cars 🙂