Well there we go! Greenhouse Effect problem solved! Or isn’t it? The French company MDI (Moteur Development International) are promoting their prototype AirPod One, a car that runs on compressed air. It can carry four people, three adults and one child and gets you roughly 125 miles (200 kilometers) if you believe the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, or about 62 miles (100 kilometers) according to Engagdet, with a maximum speed of 43 mph (70 km/h). MDI’s own website (Google Translated, it’s in French. Original web page) hints 200 kilometers with “it does not cost a Euro per 200 km“, but it doesn’t say an actual range.

I can’t but remember the episode Smug Alert! from the TV show South Park. I wonder what this will do to the beautiful city of San Fransisco… No, but seriously, could this be the ultimate Geekmobile? Either way, it’s a fantastic gadget.

It runs on compressed air, using a piston just like a fuel injection engine. Only, instead of adding gasoline or diesel and igniting it, it charges it with compressed air, pushing the piston just like the explosion would. “Fueling up” the car supposedly takes two minutes using dedicated stations, but it can also be reloaded at home using an air compressor, but it would take longer to do in that case.

Last time I was in Los Angeles, CA a couple of months ago, I was watching the news and they said that driving had decreased significantly, like 8% between June 2008 and June 2008, most likely due to the fuel prices skyrocketing. And that the use of public transportation had increased by like 20% or something like that (my memory might be failing me on this data, please don’t hold it against me). I also noticed that many more people where driving the Toyota Prius, which made me happy. Hot dang, if people aren’t smartening up indeed? Maybe my children will live to see their children enjoy too see what I’m seeing through the windows of my office… Inspiration for a brighter, cleaner future. The human way, in geek terms.

Via Aftonbladet, Engadget and MDI