Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green
New York 2008: MDI Air Car spotted uncovered
Our colleagues at AutoblogGreen happened upon the MDI Air Car uncovered in the lobby of the Jacob Javits Center just now, and were surprised at what they saw. Powered by compressed air stored under pressure in carbon fiber tanks, the Air Car on the floor in New York looks absolutely nothing like prototypes and sketches we've seen in the past. This previous rendering promised a fully-enclosed, Yaris-like cocoon, and even the original prototype at least had a solid roof over your head. Not this one. The body appears to be comprised entirely of injected-molded plastic that was color-keyed to my grandmother's bed spread, and crash protection looks to be on par with the Cozy Coupe. Our crew at ABG will be interviewing the team from MDI later today, so we'll find out more about the MDI Air Car and its many personalities soon.
[Source: AutoblogGreen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Luis 1:06PM (3/20/2008)
They need to put the cover back...
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Andrew 1:14PM (3/20/2008)
Glorified golf cart, but nice work on the propulsion.
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imoore 1:28PM (3/20/2008)
I bet my son's Cozy Coupe can outrun this.
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SPG 1:30PM (3/20/2008)
I love the idea of a compressed air car.
That's frikken awesome.
They styling however needs some work.
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Mulad 1:44PM (3/20/2008)
Uh, yeah, if you weren't aware that the MDI cars are made almost entirely of plastic, you weren't paying enough attention. That's really the only way compressed air can let you travel so far. Like scooters and neighborhood electric vehicles, they appear to be practical for certain uses, but they're not the next holy grail of transportation.
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mdesigner 3:58PM (3/20/2008)
Gorgeous, simply gorgeous!
HA, I almost typed that with a straight face.
OKAY. Heres some knowledge that EVERY alt fuel (air/hydrogen/elec/etc)
company WILL BENEFIT FROM!
Rule Number 1: IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR CONCEPT/TECHNOLOGY APPEALING TO
PEOPLE YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE TIME TO DESIGN A VEHICLE THAT WILL APPEAL
TO PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!
Rule Number 2: NEVER BREAK RULE NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!!
Hideous vehicles DO NOT SELL WELL!!!!
Gremlin, Aztec, Edsel...need I say more?
YOU ALIENATE YOUR PRODUCT---YOU ALIENATE YOUR BUYER!
If this is far too difficult of a revolutionary, seemingly unfounded,
superficial method of which to judge a consumer based products. LOOK
AROUND!
Macintosh, Ferrari, Calvin Klein, etc,etc,etc,etc,etc seem to get it
right.
I have to say that I want the technology to succeed but the blatant
disregard for everything basic in terms of product design really,
truly, pisses me off!
PASSIONATE RANTER
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James 5:52PM (3/20/2008)
Boy do I feel old. My first car was a Cozy Coupe. Probably somewhere around model year 1990. It looked better than this thing.
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Derek 9:42PM (3/20/2008)
You were riding in a "Cozy Coupe" in 1990? and you feel OLD?
EVan 3:10PM (3/24/2008)
Cozy Coupe.... awesome.
Yea, this is something Linton over at ABG would totally go nuts for. In reality the only way this could come to the states would be under some sort of NEV (or maybe NAV for "Air") rule or as a three wheeler.
Either way, all of these things are great ideas to get people thinking efficiency but to bring something to the table that has had so little investment put into it in the areas of materials and safety is just a waste in my opinion.
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MARSCHNER 1:55PM (4/21/2008)
If you are interested to invest in the MDI company, my wife and I are willing to sell some of our shares of MDI. We support financially MDI since 1992 and hold then so 1 % of the capital.
After 16 years we decide to realise a part of our investment !
Our selling price will be less (market oblige) as the last transfers made by M Nègre himself (he held 2/3 of the capital). If you have a serious interest please write us : martinmarschner(at)hotmail.com
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