Thank you to Sol Schulman for alerting me to this story.
Moteur Developpment International (MDI), a French company founded in 1991 by Formula One engineer Guy Nègre, has released a prototype of a car whose only fuel is compressed air. The car will have a maximum speed of 110kmh (68 mph), and a tank range of 200km(125 miles). Both specs certainly meet the needs of Joe Commuter. The car will cost only €3500($5200 at current prices) and refueling is almost free at an estimated €1.50.
The company also plans to compete for the Automotive X-Prize, a highly publicized, multi-million dollar competition of green cars. The prize will be awarded based on a diverse set of criteria, but all cars must be travel at least 100 miles per gallon of gasoline energy equivalent(MPGe) and emit less than 200 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per mile. MDI's entrant will be an air/fossil fuel hybrid.
Links: BBC News Video | Air Car Project | Photos | Wikipedia | Auto X-Prize | Prize Rules | Edmund's Summary of Prize Entrants
