Gas prices continue to skyrocket for American consumers, and even with the more eco-friendly cars it can still put a big dent in your weekly budget. Hybrids, electric cars, and the smaller models like the Honda Civic, Ford Fiesta, and Hyundai Elantra are helping to keep personal fuel consumption down, but Americans are still looking for new ways to save at the pump. We already wrote about getting 76 mpgs, so what if you could get over 100 mpg? Well, with the hybrid air car inventors say it may be possible.
A hybrid air car is a newer invention that hasn’t yet been released and it still in the prototype stages. French car manufacturers, Peugeot and Citroen have developed automobile technology that allows a car to run on air when it is not running on gas. With this system it is estimated that the air car could get as much as 117 mpg driving in the city alone.
How Does it Work?
The vehicle would have a compressed air tank in the floor or the trunk and it would be rechargeable. According to Engadget online when this air combines with the gasoline it can permit up to 50 minutes of drive time throughout the city without having to use any gasoline.
The Outlook for the Air Hybrid
PSA Peugeot Citroen is aiming as soon as 2016 to have cars on the road with this technology. The cars would be smaller to start with but a company spokeswoman told ABC News’ Ned Potter that they’re “not talking about weird and wacky machines,” “these [air systems] are going to be in everyday cars”.
And with the savings generated by not buying expensive gas, you no longer need to have outstanding credit or to own the best credit cards out there in order to afford the upfront cost of the car, right? But the assumption that these cars would cost a lot upfront also doesn’t necessarily bear out. According to Mr. Potter these cars should actually run about $1,500 less than an average hybrid.
Cars like this can be a game changer for congested cities all over the world. Gizmag reports that in the standard sized vehicle the system is supposed to achieve “certified” combined fuel consumption of about 81 mpg, and CO2 emissions of about 69 g/km. However if a driver mainly stays within the city area then the car can be run on air alone about 70+% of the time cutting emissions and fuel consumption even more. That being said, air power will only run when the car is moving about 43 mph or less.
A vehicle like this could really change the world. In places like China where cars and the number of people have grown so rapidly that their air quality is beyond dangerous. It is still a bit of a guess as to if this technology will be available in just a few years, but it is inspiration that we’re not too far off.
Source: Gas2.0
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