Automotive X Prize

[MikeTbob]

I think this is the most astounding thing since cavemen learned how to throw rocks at each other. Cars that get 100 MPG or better!
I see some very sleek, shiny and desirable vehicles here, I really like the Tesla Whitestar. (Mostly All Electric)

The four-door mainstream WhiteStar should be offered as an all-electric model with a range somewhere between 150 to 200 miles, or a range-extended vehicle at around 400 miles but only 40 to 50 on all-electric power—think the Chevy Volt, with a gas-engine generator to recharge on the road. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know of Tesla’s X Prize car;

Thoughts anyone?
Automotive X Prize Top 10 Teams - Aptera, Tesla - Auto X Prize - 100 MPG - Popular Mechanics
You may have seen this link on Slashdot, that's where I stole it from.

[jayd512]

That's awesome! I really think a lot more research should go into electric powered cars. Maybe it's just me, but I'm getting sick and tired of paying close to $4 for a gallon o' gas

[elija]

That's awesome! I really think a lot more research should go into electric powered cars. Maybe it's just me, but I'm getting sick and tired of paying close to $4 for a gallon o' gas

Here in the UK, we would love to pay that little! At an estimate we would pay
$8 - $9 per gallon (US).

[carlosponti]

I just love the aptera, most of the criticism around it is that it looks more like a modern composite personal airplane than a car but I like airplanes so the car to me looks awesome.

[bidi]

This will soon be a reality. GM has already announced it will put the Volt concept vehicle in production by 2010. It uses what most people would understand as full hybrid, where the gasoline engine is used strictly as a generator. What's more, the built it so that they can put any generator they want in it's place... be it a gasoline engine, diesel engine, hydrogen fuel cell, or whatever else they want.

The Volt also boasts a plug that you can plug into your house's electrical system to charge the batteries at night.

EDIT:
Forgot to mention... if I remember correctly the Volt goes 40 miles without ever needing to start the gasoline engine. And when it is running, it does 140 mpg.

[carlosponti]

volt is not the first time gm has made big claims on an electric vehicle. back in the early nineties they had an electric car. and they refused to sell it. they leased it and when they were not required in california to have one they revoked the leases and destroyed the cars. the big three need to step aside and let some new blood into real innovation. lost my faith in gm some time ago.

[Jonathan183]

There are cars you can run on compressed air as well ... see here. I think longer term all electric is probably the way to go ... electric motors being much more robust and needing less maintenance than piston engines. The maximum range has continued to be a problem for people ... but the majority of people travel less than 70 miles a day and the one way trip is certainly within the range of most electric vehicles.

The increasing cost of fuel will force people to make the change ... but this will shift the problem to power generation.

[MikeTbob]

volt is not the first time gm has made big claims on an electric vehicle. back in the early nineties they had an electric car. and they refused to sell it. they leased it and when they were not required in california to have one they revoked the leases and destroyed the cars. the big three need to step aside and let some new blood into real innovation. lost my faith in gm some time ago.

Exactly, I say to hell with the big three. If they don't want to be a part of the solution then they must be part of the problem. If high school kids can build one of these cars, you know GM, Ford or Chevy could have done this a few years ago.
I say this time, there won't be anyone to buy this technology and sweep it under the rug like in the past.

[bidi]

I'll go ahead and address some of the concerns with GM, at least, I have to agree that Ford and Chrysler (by the way, Chevy is GM) need to step up they're game.

The problem with the EV1 is that the legislation that required that 10% (or maybe it was 20%) of all cars sold by any manufacturer in the US needed to be 0-emission went away in 97 or so. This made car companies, ALL car companies, by the way, abandon their electric concept. In my opinion, the EV1 was the best thing that happened to the car industry. It introduced at least 3 technologies that are now used on the Toyota Prius: (1) regenerative braking; (2) low coefficient of friction tires; (3) low drag coefficient body. At least GM tried. The problem is that Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, etc didn't even try to make it work, they just sat on the sideline and lobbied the crap out of Washington to do away with the legislation, which they eventually did. GM didn't sell the EV1 because if they did, under law, they would need to keep selling replacement parts for at least 10 years. Now that's not very cost effective.

Additionally, the problem that I see with most companies trying to introduce alternative fuel vehicles is that they want to target the compact/cheap sector. That's just dumb! You need start with the top, as the technology becomes cheaper you start lowering the price. It has always worked this way, and it will always work this way.

You want to fix the fuel problem, or at least try to? Call your congressman! A few weeks ago Congress brought gasoline fuel manufacturer in to ask why they haven't used the rebates they've been given to help research alternative fuels. Instead of answering the questions, they just got a pat on the back and were sent home.

By the way, there have been only 2 car companies that actually tried creating alternative fuel vehicles: General Motors, and Daimler-Benz (that's the name before they bought Chrysler).

If you haven't noticed, I've been waiting for an alternative fuel vehicle for a while now!

[Oxygen]

I'd like to see more research into hyrdrogen powered cars to be honest. They're probably more energy efficient than electric cars.