La voiture qui pompe l'air - Translation (EN)
Date: 28 Feb 2009
Video clip translation edited by gnomædh
This little car has all the air that it needs because that's what makes it go. Zero emissions and 1€ per fill-up. Max speed - 70km/hr. And this is the inventor, Guy Negre. He has been working on the compressed air concept for over 13 years with revolutionary new ideas. "Well, here's the accelerator and brake pedals. We also have the joystick control for turning right and left, as well as basic accessory controls like the windshield wiper, lights, etc..." This model is still a prototype. "There's no muffler yet so it's a little noisy." We are near Nice in Carros. This is where the R&D center is located with a staff of 50 people. Here we manufacture multiple prototypes with aluminum chassis' and fiberglass shells. But the focal point is obviously the motor, it being the 44th version under development. "Well, the basic principle is to use compressed air to push the pistons. It's simple mechanical principles that power the motor, and piston propulsion is quite well understood." The result is that the pressure of the compressed air replaces the fuel explosions, but the little secret is the double piston design. "Here we have a system that injects pressurized air onto the little piston, pushing it down with a constant pressure or force before transferring the remaining pressurized air into the next larger piston chamber. This is what makes this motor so efficient." With more torque per cycle (higher efficiency) and a vehicle with a mass off less than 400kg, the inventor is claiming a maximum operating range of 100km (city). "He is very optimistic." This professor is very doubtful of being able to reach this suggested vehicle efficiency. "I've seen figures like 370kg GVWR and with 100kg more with a full air tank. This all seems more like random guesswork than anything for attaining the necessary operating efficiencies for these vehicles." But the challenge is more than just technical data; it's also in distribution. "We are used to producing vehicles in huge factories that are extremely energy intensive, etc... we stockpile the manufactured vehicles and distribute them to the dealerships, and then they resell them in turn. But here, we are actually manufacturing the vehicle at the dealership itself, in the rear assembly area." The idea is to produce hundreds of smaller factories where we manufacture the vehicles in the rear area and sell them at the front. This concept has captured the imagination of Mr. Sanduc. This Genevian lawyer want to launch himself into the compressed air business, and with money from private investors, he bought the zone license for Switzerland. He's not quite driving a compressed air vehicle, but he already found a suitable location for his 17,000 sq meter factory, and the plans are already drawn-up. "It's here on this parcel of land that this first factory will be constructed, including parking and a test-drive area." This real estate acquisition is only conditional, so this future owner is also considering another option. Welcome to the Swissmetal factory, which has been shut down since the 2006 strike. Today, the facility is almost completely empty. "Hi... how are you? Let's go take a look at the factory area... wonderful!" The lawyer has a meeting with the building superintendent, and he can already see it... "Over there will be the showroom and reception area, including a cafeteria for both the staff and the general public, especially since we are looking at creating an open-to-the-public factory. We will be producing vehicles locally and selling them locally. 90% of the vehicle is manufactured in the factory itself. There will be between 120-150 employees. Max 12,000 vehicles produced per year." If everything goes well, the first vehicles will be coming off the production line around 2010. But for the moment, these vehicles haven't yet been certified for street use. In the mean time, AirFrance will be testing 10 units in French airports.