Japlonik (an Audi-sponsored… guy? site? simulacrum?) offers ‘More on the MDI Air-Powered car’:
The company is moving forward on its
plans to offer an air-electric powered vehicle for sale in 2005, and
even created prototypes of several models, including taxicab and
pick-up truck designs.
I couldn’t find a comments slot on the site, so I emailed ’em:
This isn’t air POWERED of course; maybe more like air ‘assisted.’ Which
is to say: compressed air isn’t the source of energy, its the
energy storage — equivalent to a battery. The air needs to be
compressed by a separate process (motor, compressor, etc), which
needs to be powered by something (solar, wind, biofuel, hydro,
fossil fuel, etc.). The emissions profile of the vehicle will
depend on that source, _its_ efficiency, etc. TANSTAAFL.
(What’s TANSTAAFL? ‘There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.’ You obviously haven’t read enough Robert Heinlein.)