DailyDirt: Greener Cars

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The debates over the best energy technologies will likely exist for a long time to come -- perhaps to the detriment of making actual progress in replacing fossil fuels with renewable or cleaner energy sources. The transportation sector makes a pretty big dent in total energy usage, so it's always nice to see cars getting more efficient and greener. Here are a few quick links on some efforts to improve personal transportation (but that may not really be that green in the big picture). By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
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Filed Under: backfire effect, partial hybrids, suburban air vehicles
Companies: gm, xlhybrids


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  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 18 Mar 2011 @ 5:50pm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_battery

    Someday we may only need air to make something move, but for today how about your own electric generator powered by air?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Michael Ho (profile), 18 Mar 2011 @ 8:13pm

    Re: But where does the compressed air come from?

    There are already a few compressed-air-powered cars:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car

    And I think the Amish are also quite fond of using compressed air appliances in lieu of the electrically-powered ones most people use....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 18 Mar 2011 @ 9:55pm

    Re: Re: But where does the compressed air come from?

    Yep I knew that one but I was thinking about electric cars, those other cars moved by compressed air have some problems going uphill LoL

    Still I'm longing for the days where when your "gas" runs out you just need a hand crank to generate more :)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2011 @ 12:28am

    Suburban Air Vehicles (SAVs)

    YES! Finally, Jetsons-style flying cars for everyone!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Pixelation, 19 Mar 2011 @ 5:34am

    Re:

    I was at a party and had a conversation with a young woman working on a team creating an air powered battery. One of the big hurdles is dealing with the moisture created when compressing air. She said they were fairly close to a working prototype.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. icon
    bdhoro (profile), 19 Mar 2011 @ 8:18am

    Greener is greater... for the environment

    These companies are classic nerds, they tunnel into the one area they believe will save their business and stop innovating in other areas.

    There's no question creating more efficient transportation is good for the environment but it is rare that this sells cars.

    A car being more efficient doesn't feel very much like a new feature when I get in and test drive. So make my car greener, thats great for the environment, but if you want to increase your business, you need to add features.

    I've been complaining for far too long that my car doesn't have a usable computer in it that can wirelessly sync to my wifi and download music and movies, maps and directions while parked in my driveway. Some new cars are adding mounted ipads in the dash, which is a step in the right direction. I think the best thing for us all would be if Google would partner up with a car company.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    lfroen (profile), 19 Mar 2011 @ 11:24am

    Greener == cheaper

    I don't now about you, but in my part of the world, gas cost money. So, greener, or more fuel-efficient cars are more popular because they save real money.
    Who the hell need a "usable computer" built-in to the car? Have you ever heard about laptops? What about cellphones?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2011 @ 8:27pm

    Re: Re:

    Painters have the same problem with air guns the solution for them is to use a filter that removes moisture from the air before it gets pumped and one after it gets out from the cylinder.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2011 @ 8:32pm

    Re: Re:

    Solution to moisture can be found in air-conditioners also, like the coolerado.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2011 @ 8:37pm

    Talking about cranking things I just saw this.
    The Wave Disk Generator that promises to combust any type of fuel and increase the output 3.5x and have fewer parts then a conventional combustion motor.

    Some people already realized that there is no one solution that can handle the future, people are starting to realize they will need all of the solutions available, the future will be a mix of all we have right now and some new things to come to get out of fossil fuels dependency.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2011 @ 8:48pm

    Re: Re:

    Particularly I'm fond of liquid salts, as a solution for that problem, that are hydrophilic and can be regenerated by heating them, making it reusable and not disposable.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Pixelation, 19 Mar 2011 @ 11:05pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    The big issue is the loss of energy associated with the moisture. Sure you could just suck the moisture out but can you do it with minimal energy loss?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2011 @ 11:15pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    If you are compressing dry air what is the energy loss?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2011 @ 5:13pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    If you compress air dry air where is the energy loss?

    link to this | view in thread ]


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