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Hey everyone, I'm Elizabeth Chambers and you're watching LivingGreenChannel.Com, your source for living an eco-friendly lifestyle. Prices at the gas pumps are still frustratingly high, and many car makers are looking for the next design break through that will deliver the most miles per gallon. French Car engineering firm MDI may have just found the solution that trumps hybrids, electric vehicles, and even bio fuel... cars fuled by air! MDI's system, designed by a former race car engineer, uses compressed air the same way that a locomotive uses steam to power the pistons in an engine. Unbelievably, the company claims their car can get an outrageous 106 miles per gallon using the technology. American car maker Zero Pollution Motors is the first US company to make a deal with MDI to produce the cars, and they have promised to put out a model by 2010 that will have a sticker price of less than 18,000 dollars. The planned American model would seat six, have a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour, and could travel up to 800 miles between fill ups. The car would still need some conventional fuel, using an internal combustion system that would heat the compressed air when the car was driving at speeds in excess of 35 miles per hour. According to MDI, heating the compressed air will increase its volume, and increase the car's range. And the conventional oil wouldn't necessarily need to be gasoline... the internal combustion engine could also be run on biofuel, ethanol, or vegetable oil. An on board compressor would refill the tank while the car runs, or owners could choose to refill it by plugging it into the wall for a few hours. The car would be built to be as lightweight as possible, with the body consisting of fiberglass and injected foam. Critics are skeptical about MDI's claims about the car's miraculous MPGs... while engineers admit that powering a car with compressed air is possible, one that gets 106 miles per gallon seems to be pushing the boundaries of any existing technology. The only other cars that get such incredible mileage are tiny experimental vehicles. Currently the best mileage a six seater passenger car has received in tests is 75 MPG. Another potential flaw is that it takes about 4,500 pounds per square inch of air pressure, or 120 times the amount of pressure in an inflated tire, to power the car. Experts say that generating that much air pressure would take a powerful compressor that could not be energy efficient to stand up to the MPG claims. Yet even with major questions surrounding MDI's MPG claims, other companies are actively interested in their design. India's biggest car manufacturer, Tata Motors, inked a major deal with MDI to further develop the technology, though only prototypes of the car exist so far. And the Compressed Air Car will have its biggest chance to quiet critics when it competes for the X Prize next year. The X Prize is a multi million dollar purse that will go to a team that, according to the X Prize Foundation website, "can win a stage race for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 mpg equivalent fuel economy.” So by next year, we'll know if a car powered by compressed air can literally blow away the competition to become the world's most fuel efficient car. This has been Elizabeth Chambers for LivingGreenChannel.com with your Eco-Friendly update.