The first commercial car to be powered by compressed air could be about to hit the production lines, as Indian automaker Tata Motors prepares to build ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre's design. We're not certain if it's the same air car that we hit just under three years ago, but if it is, it's about time! The City Cat runs on nothing but compressed air -- which can be refueled at "air stations," and overnight using a built-in compressor -- with a not too shabby top speed of 68MPH and a range of 125 miles. The Air Car designers are working on a hybrid version that can compress air while it's operating, potentially making cross-India journeys possible: Toyota Prius, eat your hybrid heart out. As EcoGeek points out, the game ain't up just yet for completely emissions free travel since the problem of the source of the electricity (usually acquired from fossil fuels) has yet to be solved. Plus, the fugly design really doesn't do it any favours: why does "green" have to mean "gah?"

[Via Digg]

No joke, man, Memorex -- yeah, that Memorex -- recognized that teenage huffers are so into snorting their compressed-gas dusting products they went ahead and added a deterrent ("bitterant", a "bitter safety additive") to keep impressionable youth from getting all whacked up on the stuff. So far as we can tell, their new, smellier Air Dusters won't be branded any differently, so the next time you go "bagging" or "dusting" (we love the fact their press release quotes euphemisms for getting high), don't be too surprised at the awful and/or vomit-inducing scent emitted. Remember kids: no huffin.