New X-Prize for Fuel Efficient Cars Announced 371
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.'"
Less exciting (Score:2, Interesting)
Already there, if you drive it right (Score:2, Interesting)
realistic specs?? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Less exciting (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Less exciting (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Less exciting (Score:5, Interesting)
You could make the engine part a trailer [dansdata.com]. 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).
Re:More practical than other X prizes (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.
Re:More practical than other X prizes (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Less exciting (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:More practical than other X prizes (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:hit 60 miles per hour in less than 12 seconds? (Score:3, Interesting)
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).