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X Prize For a 100-MPG Car
Heinen writes in about the X Prize Foundation, which spurred innovation by offering US $10 million for the first privately built spacecraft. The Foundation now plans to offer millions for the first practical car that increases mileage five-fold. The specs for the competition are out in draft form amd call for cars in two categories that are capable of 100 MPG in tests to be run in 2009. The categories are: 4-passenger/4-wheel; and 2-passenger/unspecified wheels. The cars must be manufacturable, not "science projects. The prize is expected to top $10 million. The X Prize Foundation says that so far it has received more than 1,000 inquiries from possible competitors.
Power an electric car with a nuclear battery.
Sorry to mention this, oh strange American folk (I'm in Australia), but generally, fuel consumption is expressed in lt/100km.
So that's 2.3lt/100km.
You know, my eight year old Hyundai Excel, four doors + hatch, air conditoning, carries my 4 person family about quite effectively, gets 5.5lt/100km (43mpg). I measured it for some years (it varied from 4.5 to 6.5). I don't even try that hard. And it's half way there.
I am stunned to learn the average American vehicle gets 21mpg, or 8.9 lt/100km. Gosh. Do they have special oil burning jets out the back or something?
"Cats like plain crisps"
I think both Parent and GP have valid points that do not necessarily negate each other. I happen to fall in both categories, I used to own a Peugeot 206 SX which I loved and I often modified adding little tune ups like changing the air intake and filters to a more elevated position, whatever. I used to live in a city where I had to drive 30 to 40 minutes from home to work, and if I happened to hit a bottleneck the time would often go to almost an hour and a half. But I had a really nice sound system and AC and I didn't mind.
Now I live in a different city that has an integral and working public transportation system that takes me virtually anywhere I want to go, and I've found that I don't really need to have a car, don't even want one very much. So I'm putting off buying one until I've saved enough to get one of those nifty CC models, but even if I had it I'm sure I'd be taking the train/bus to work just as I do now because I can read a book or get up to speed on the latest manuals during the trip. And many of my co workers do just that. Yes, there is a point to the anecdote and its that I too used to believe all that stuff about a car being an extension of one's personality etc. And I was able to change my mind when presented with a viable alternative. Owning a car is convenient and if I did I'd like it to be the car that I want, but its not impossible to get by without one. I guess its another of those pesky chicken and egg problems, people won't build the infrastructure if they don't see the need, and they won't see it if they can't use the infrastructure and compare. But it is indeed possible.[/RAMBLE]
+Raider of the lost BBS
I've got an '02 bmw 320d that routinely gets 55mpg+ on the highway. Plenty of power, great mileage, and it's a fairly large comfy car. I have my eyes on the new 335d, which is an awesome combination of power and great mileage. Without a huge change in technology, it would seem that the US could cut down on fuel consumption by switching over to diesel. with the gas prices being what they are, i'm guessing we'll be seeing more diesels in the states soon.