[heroineworshipper]

> $10M Offered for Fuel-Efficient Vehicle in Automotive X Prize

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339629,00.html

If $10M can't do it, nothing can. So what happens when we discover it can't be done & we really R oil slaves?

[TreeFarmer]

You know for the 2 person part of the contest if you built a car where one person sits behind the other and it looked a lot like a torpedo on wheels you might be close to the target when you start.

TF

[dohboi]

What a joke. The Zenn EV already gets the equivalent of about 250 miles per gallon. So do they get the $10M? (Or should it be $25 M)?

[JeeBoomba]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('heroineworshipper', '&')gt; $10M Offered for Fuel-Efficient Vehicle in Automotive X Prize

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339629,00.html

If $10M can't do it, nothing can. So what happens when we discover it can't be done & we really R oil slaves?

[Zythryn]

Hmmm, well if the 100mpg figure is 'equivalent mpg' as calculated by the EPA the Tesla Roadster has done it and is currently in production.

[What2DO]

Ok so a small company that takes a Saturn Vue and adds some batteries and ulrta caps and a electric motor and now its a hybrid that get 150 mpg with and all electric range of 40 miles, this does'nt count?
In the 2008 detriot auto show Saturn showed off there new Vue hybrid that ONLY has a 10 mile electric range, theres something really wrong here people

XH-150 hybrid

[KingM]

I don't get it. Auto companies have spent billions on R&D. What's a $10 million dollar prize going to do?

[IslandCrow]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KingM', 'W')hat's a $10 million dollar prize going to do?

[KrellEnergySource]

My 7 hp motor scooter (Bajaj Legened) gets what is considered great mileage for a 150cc scooter...about 90 mpg.

Getting the same mileage in any kind of automobile that the common person would consider driving on today's streets (regardless of cost...) would be amazing. Getting another 10mpg would be a miracle. I don't see it happening.

Brian

[heroineworshipper]

The 1 condition for winning the $10 M:

> applicants will be narrowed to those who can prove they would build production-ready, consumer-friendly cars.

That has never been done. Better not throw out your Koran yet.

[meekoil]

This company is going to try to collect.
Supposedly in production in California this fall.

http://aptera.com/

[JeeBoomba]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KrellEnergySource', 'M')y 7 hp motor scooter (Bajaj Legened) gets what is considered great mileage for a 150cc scooter...about 90 mpg.

Getting the same mileage in any kind of automobile that the common person would consider driving on today's streets (regardless of cost...) would be amazing. Getting another 10mpg would be a miracle. I don't see it happening.

[KrellEnergySource]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JeeBoomba', '
')Your scooter is a primitive, air-cooled 2-stroke with a carburetor that is designed from the ground up to be as cheap and simple as possible and have large safety margins to ensure that it keeps running. Also, a scooter/motorcycle has the aerodynamics of a barndoor.
Ironically, your scooter probably pollutes more than a 6000 pound Hummer H2, as 2 stroke engines both burn every drop of oil you put in them and spew unburned gasoline like crazy.

[yesplease]

Still not as clean as a modern auto, Hummer or not Hummer, unfortunately. Emissions regulations of two wheelers aren't as stringent as those of four wheelers.

[lper100km]

When all is said and done, it comes down to a compromise between four things.

1) engine plus transmission efficiency 2) engine power 3) overall weight 4) max. travel speed

Today, gasoline engines are operating at close to theoretical maximum efficiency, so that is not an area of improvement readily available. Maximising power to the wheels means removing power hogs like air conditioning, heater fans, radios, interior lights. A light weight frame means that less power is required. However, passenger weight then becomes an issue.

Then, there’s the issue of driving style. Clearly a leadfoot is going to do much worse than someone who practices hypermiling.

The specifications for conventional ‘mainstream’ vehicle performance virtually ensures that this prize will never be won for this category.

The performance specifications for alternative vehicles, which presumably includes hybrids and EVs, are considerably less demanding. Why should this be so? Wouldn't it make more sense to have exactly the same specifications for each category?

[lys3rg0]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lper100km', ' ')A light weight frame means that less power is required. However, passenger weight then becomes an issue.

[skyemoor]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lper100km', 'W')hen all is said and done, it comes down to a compromise between four things.

1) engine plus transmission efficiency 2) engine power 3) overall weight 4) max. travel speed

[lper100km]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('skyemoor', '
')Vehicles like the Aptera and VW1 litre car show that there is still considerable promise in many aspects of vehicle engineering design.

Aptera hybrid = 300 mpg ( > 100 miles)
VW 1 litre car = 282 mpg

[mos6507]

The biggest barrier is consumer habits. The kind of vehicle that will win the X-prize probably will turn off consumers on all levels besides mileage.

They want to have their cake and eat it too.

[newCulture]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lper100km', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('skyemoor', '
')Vehicles like the Aptera and VW1 litre car show that there is still considerable promise in many aspects of vehicle engineering design.

Aptera hybrid = 300 mpg ( > 100 miles)
VW 1 litre car = 282 mpg