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New X-Prize for Fuel Efficient Cars Announced

Posted by Zonk on from the it's-like-the-robot-one-but-with-less-programming dept.

miowpurr writes "A new X-Prize for ultra fuel efficient cars has been announced. The winning car must 'carry four or more passengers and have climate control, an audio system and 10 cubic feet of cargo space. They also must have four or more wheels, hit 60 miles per hour in less than 12 seconds and have a minimum top speed of 100 miles per hour and a range of 200 miles. Those that qualify will race their vehicles in cross-country races in 2009 and 2010 that will combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance.'"

11 of 371 comments (clear)

  1. Less exciting by philspear · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is just not as exciting as the other X-prizes. Maybe more valuable, but still. Just saying.

    1. Re:Less exciting by gfxguy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Maybe I'm just old, but having a competition for something that's actually practical and could somehow find it's way into the consumer market is a lot more exciting to me after all these contests that really don't benefit "real" people.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    2. Re:Less exciting by jandrese · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I thought the Tesla Motors cars were all electric? How do you intend to go cross country with an all electric car? I don't think the rules will allow for you to chase it with a big generator truck to recharge the car every 200 miles. The way the rules are written, it sounds to me like your car is pretty much going to have to be gasoline or diesel powered because that's the only way you're going to be able to refuel it when you're 1000 miles from home. Sneaking in behind shopping malls or something every 200 miles and plugging it into an outside wall outlet is probably not going to work.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    3. Re:Less exciting by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I thought the Tesla Motors cars were all electric? How do you intend to go cross country with an all electric car? I don't think the rules will allow for you to chase it with a big generator truck to recharge the car every 200 miles. The way the rules are written, it sounds to me like your car is pretty much going to have to be gasoline or diesel powered because that's the only way you're going to be able to refuel it when you're 1000 miles from home. Sneaking in behind shopping malls or something every 200 miles and plugging it into an outside wall outlet is probably not going to work.


      You could make the engine part a trailer. When you're doing your inter-city commutes, you'd just plug it in at work, plut it in at home, and go about your merry little business as a fully electric car.

      When you want to go cross-country, you'd hook up the trailer to the car, and as necessary, it starts up, generates power for the battery, and shuts down, like hybrid cars. Except unlike hybrids, you're not carrying the whole engine and supporting systems (gas, cooling, exhaust, etc) with you everywhere you go. And like hybrids, it can work the engine where its most efficient. (The ICE is so inefficient, that it's way more efficient to use its mechanical power to generate electricity, and then use the electricity to move a vehicle - see the popular diesel-electic train).

      Heck, if there's a standard for wiring up these trailers and cars together, a whole new industry is born - car companies can produce an all electric car and their standard trailer, and third parties can make their own trailers. Or rent a trailer if they don't go on long trips frequently enough to justify owning one (aren't most cars just used for the daily commute? In which case the plug in at office/home would work just fine).
    4. Re:Less exciting by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If I lived in a warm climate where I commuted, I would DEFINITELY BUY an Aptera Hybrid. But I wonder about the performance of such a vehicle in the snow / slush / mud of Northern New York. I expect that I'll be buying a Subaru Hybrid, which you can bet Subaru is working on feverishly.

      --
      Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  2. Already there, if you drive it right by Thoguth · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This guy got 180 mpg out of a Honda Insight on a 20-mile urban course in the rain, using energy-conserving driving techniques.

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    The requested URL /iframe/sig.html was not found on this server.
  3. realistic specs?? by egburr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I would love to get 100 MPG, but why do they require acceleration to 60 in 12 seconds? 15-20 seconds would be just fine. And more importantly, why do they require a minimum top speed of 100 MPH? 80 MPH would be more than sufficient for 99.99% of roads worldwide. I'd be happy with 100 MPG even if I could never get it over 75 MPH. Of course I'd be happy if most of the cars on the highway would drive the same speed, instead of having some people driving slow in the fast lanes and other people constantly swerving across lanes to maintain their speed 10-20 MPH over the general traffic flow. I'm not advocating artificially restricting the speed capabilities; I'm just questioning why they make such a high speed (that only police cars and people running from police cars need) a requirement.

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    Edward Burr
    Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
  4. Re:More practical than other X prizes by hardburn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Exactly. You could probably get in with a small diesel-powered car and make some drastic weight reductions. Getting 100mpg isn't that hard if you're willing to rip off the doors/interior carpet/dashboard plastics/etc.

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    Not a typewriter
  5. Re:More practical than other X prizes by strabes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My friend converted his hybrid into a plug-in and now gets over 100mpg without removing the doors, carpets, or anything.

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    Its = possessive. It's = "it is"
  6. Re:More practical than other X prizes by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Li-Ion pack? Or NiMH? If NiMH, he could swap the pack out for a higher-density Li-Ion pack, which could also reduce the weight.

    /EAA-PHEV mailing list lurker

  7. Re:hit 60 miles per hour in less than 12 seconds? by Ihlosi · · Score: 2, Interesting
    My 1981 Rabbit Diesel literally took 45 seconds to go 0 to 60, and couldn't go over 75 mph without a hill or tailwind -- so I'm guessing it's not going to win this. On the other hand, it did get 52 mph if you drove it right -- not ultra-efficient, but not bad at all for a real world car, especially considering that it was made 27 years ago.

    Oh, come on. My 2004 VW Touran 2.0 TDI goes from 0 to 60 in 10.3 seconds and easily goes 100 mph. And it gets 48 mpg on the highway (@75 mph, loaded with 2 adults, 2 kids and luggage) even when you do wasteful things like letting it idle for 10 minutes during a break on a rest stop. And it has lots of cargo space (or two extra seats and a little bit of cargo space), automatic transmission, AC and whatnot.



    On the other hand, to win that prize I'd probably start with some of VWs newest gasoline engines (the 1.4 TSI) and design the car around that (maybe doing a hybrid, but definitely adding stuff like a transmission optimized for fuel economy and other such stuff).