E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
With only a couple of days of on-track testing left, four ultra-efficient cars have fallen out of the race for multimillion-dollar payoffs in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize competition. That leaves 11 vehicles still in the running, including a couple of little cars that seem likely to bring home a big $5 million prize for the Virginia-based Edison2 team.
The months-long X Prize contest is aimed at promoting the development of ultra-efficient cars that are also safe and roomy enough to succeed on the open road as well as the showroom floor.
Both of Edison2's mainstream-class, four-seat Very Light Cars passed this week's efficiency and range tests at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. To make it through, the ethanol-burning hybrids had to hit the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon of gasoline (MPGe) during a 136-mile series of urban, city and highway drive tests. According to The Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Va., one car had a combined efficiency rating of 100.3 MPGe, while the other recorded 95.6 combined MPGe - not quite 100, but good enough to surpass this week's adjusted requirement of 90 MPGe. The cars also had to show in a separate range test that they could go at least 200 miles without refueling or recharging.
Because the two Very Light Cars are the only ones left in the $5 million mainstream competition, the Edison2 vehicles just have to fill in the final boxes on the checklist for victory: pass next week's safety and acceleration/braking tests, stick to a 100 MPGe performance during a final 200-mile run, and get their engines' performance verified during lab tests next month. It's not as easy as a Sunday drive, but at least real-estate developer Oliver Kuttner and his Edison2 teammates have no other competitors breathing down their necks.
Edison2 has a third Very Light Car competing in a different X Prize contest, the $2.5 million competition for two-seat tandem vehicles. Yet another $2.5 million awaits the winner of the competition for two-seat, side-by-side cars. The two-seaters must satisfy the same 100 MPGe requirement, but need only drive 100 miles without refueling or recharging. (Penalties of extra laps are assessed for rule infractions.)
One of the Edison2 team's secrets is the lightness of its cars. They weigh in at less than 800 pounds each, compared with roughly 1,800 pounds for a Smart Car. But just being lightweight isn't enough to take the prize, as demonstrated by this week's dropouts in the alternative two-seater classes:
- Amp's electric vehicle met this week's 90 MPGe fuel efficiency requirement, X Prize organizers said, but it exceeded the maximum carbon-dioxide emission limit (200 grams of CO2 per mile). The team also couldn't finish all its laps in the 100-mile range test.
- Commuter Cars' tiny Tango couldn't meet the fuel efficiency standard, exceeded the CO2 emission limit and couldn't finish the range test.
- Spira's gasoline-powered vehicle couldn't satisfy the minimum fuel-economy requirement.
- Tata Motors could not present its Indica Vista EVX for today's range test, due to a technical issue, and has withdrawn the all-electric car from the competition.
The front-runners that I listed after last month's Knockout phase are all still in the race: If anyone is going to win the $5 million prize this year, it'll be Edison2. The Li-On Motors Wave II recorded the highest fuel efficiency in the side-by-side two-seater category, and thus holds the pole position for one of the $2.5 million prizes. And Switzerland's X-Tracer Team still gets my vote over Edison2 for the other $2.5 million prize, set aside for tandem two-seaters.
There's a lot of driving to go yet: If more than one vehicle hits the 100 MPGe mark and satisfies all the other requirements for a particular prize, the money goes to whoever posts the fastest pace in a time trial to be run on Tuesday. So in the two-seater categories, at least, this competition could turn into a real race.
Here's the rundown going into next week's tests:
Mainstream Class Teams:
Mainstream Class vehicles must carry four or more passengers, have four or more wheels, and offer a 200-mile range.
• Edison2, Lynchburg, Virginia (E85, two cars)
Alternative Class Teams:
Alternative Class vehicles must carry two or more passengers and allow for a 100-mile range.
Side-by-side seating:
• Aptera Motors, Vista, California (Electric)
• Li-ion Motors at EV Innovations, Mooresville, North Carolina (Electric)
• RaceAbout Association, Helsinki, Finland (Electric)
• TW4XP, Rosenthal, Germany (Electric)
• Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington (Gasoline)
• ZAP, Santa Rosa, California (Electric)
Tandem seating:
• Edison2, Lynchburg, Virginia (E85)
• X-Tracer Team Switzerland, Uster, Switzerland (Electric, two cars)
More about the Automotive X Prize:
• Slideshow: Racing to beat 100 mpg
• Light cars take on heavy trips
• Cool car technologies you can't have now
Stay tuned for X Prize updates next week. Join the Cosmic Log corps by signing up as my Facebook friend or hooking up on Twitter. And if you really want to be friendly, ask me about "The Case for Pluto."
Leave a Comment:
Nice to see there is some serious technologies at work in this field. My fear is that once any of these models ever reach the consumer market, the initial pricetag will scare the pants off most willing consumers. That's the cost one hyas to face whenever new technologies are put through the paces though. Prices will eventually come down. How soon that happens is still up in the air. Should be interesting to keep an eye on the developements. None of the models I saw looked like they could withstand much of an impact, but I wouldn't know that for any certainty from just looking at a picture. Congrats and good luck competing fellas!
I agree. It's great to see innovation rewarded, and I hope some of the practical aspects are incorporated into production vehicles.
I was rooting for Aptera, but it looks like the Edison team is taking the glory. But I still think Aptera has the most marketable product, since it's side by side seating, and is considered a "motorcycle" (3 wheels) - at least in California, which is probably the biggest market for these type of cars. Too bad Aptera's Hybrid is not in the race.
What you have forgotten is that these are basically test beds. They haven't passed all the required safety requirements that all new cars have to pass. By the time that's included, the cost's continue to climb and efficiency drops. Let's not forget all the amenities that the public are used to from radios, A/C, cup holders, truck space, etc.
Not to say this isn't a good place to start, just if and when it gets to the consumer it won't be a 100 MPG vehicle.
But 75 or 85 M P G sure beats 20 to 25 M P G . The biggest market problem I see , is all the people who unthinking might buy one of these cars for $65,000 or more . Then only drive 25 to 30 miles a day and not save any money in the long run . I say this , but we do need to be looking for a better way of going across town or across our country . The future is now . So now we need to do something about it .
Ron,
My 5,000+pound 4WD Tahoe gets 21-MPG at 85MPH and it has 175K+miles. And I just pulled a 4,000+pound trailer from Roanoke, VA to Denver, CO with it. The round trip was accomplished in 6 days. Do that with your super-car.
That is what I want to drive when trying to pass or being passed by a 18-wheeler on the interstate. In a 1,000+pound, under-powered little vehicle. If I wanted to risk my life I would stand a better chance playing Russian Roulette with a semi-auto. Ha! Ha!
For those who don't understand all this MPG game .What you've just stated is impressive , to me . But this article is about getting 100 MPG . You and I can exchange MPG tells . But they're looking at the big picture . Not one car, but the millions of cars on the road . Millions of cars pulling up to the pump or plugging into the grid everyday . I've been trying to keep up with the X Prize story . I'm not going to wear some tree hugger T-shirt , but I know we've got to do much better in the future , to have the energy we need for the future .
Being a truck driver . Your tell of driving to Denver and back to Roanoke, Va. in your old Tahoe pulling a heavy trailer scares me . I hope you had someone to help do the driving . A good team of truck drivers would have to brake a lot of rules to make that turn , in 6 days. You put yourself and the public at risk , far more than any 18-wheeler .We as truck drivers hate all the rules and regulations . But we follow
them , to keep ourselves and the public safe . I hope your trip was a once in a lifetime trip , and you don't try doing it again . I would rather exchange comments here , than think your exchanging paint out there on the Interstate .
A fresh state inspection, new tires & front pads, and new electric brakes, bearings, and tires on the trailer. My son was tag-teaming as we drove on the out-bound trip. The trip averaged 800 miles a day, at intestate speeds that is less than 12 hours driving a day/night. Sorry the Fed thinks you are unsafe at those hours. Ha! Ha!
I guess you do not want to hear about the 5 day trip from Morehead, NC to Yuma, AZ and BACK. And that was one driver..... Remember the 40 tornado's in TN, the snow/black ice in Flagstaff, AZ, the first rain in Yuma in over 100+days, and the fires in the panhandle of TX? I drove through all of them on that trip..
Or the trip from Roanoke, VA to Dallas, TX in 19-hours....... in 1972
When I was working I would put a average of 60K a year on the; car, motocycle, & truck. FYI - One speeding ticket 1996 and one minor fenderbender in 1971. What is you driving record???
My Uncle was a long-haul truck driver, 1960's & 70's but that was when they put some miles behind the wheel. Not like the new REGULATED & TRACKED truckers of today... Have a safe trip...
A C
I've enjoyed your tells of adventures , because I can understand the difficulty's you put yourself through.
But this article is about another subject ,and I wish to honor Mr. Boyle and the X prize story .
But if I may take this time to assure the readers . The men and woman driving the big trucks across our highways every day and night , do their best to follow the rules and regulations . To keep our roads safe .
Can someone explain how burning a pound of gasoline produces about 5 pounds of Carbon Dioxide?
I would like to know the answer to that one also . Can we ask Al Gore to explain ?
Hmm, I assume that the reaction involves carbon combining with oxygen in such a way that you lose oxygen molecules and get carbon dioxide molecules, which are significantly heavier than the original carbon. Here's a Web page that does some of the math:
http://www.hydrogen.co.uk/h2_now/journal/articles/2_global_warming.htm
Not sure when this reality will seep in regarding cars powered by electricity. COAL creates about 50% of our electricity (source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/electricity/epm/table1_1.html). Coal is the nastiest stuff we can use -- creating a toxic brew of airborne contaminants with wide-reaching impact. To think that electric cars are "green" is a very naive and dangerous concept.
While I agree that electricity created from coal burning power plants is an enormous problem, we can't stop trying to create alternative fuel sources for vehicles due to this fact. We need to be working concurrently on developing alternative sources for electricity as well.
MonkeyThumbs
I agree completely. Innovation is a one-step-at-a-time process, and this contest is a great step forward. The source for the electricity is a whole different subject, and one which is also rapidly undergoing change. Solar and wind are making rapid progress, but it's a LOOOOONG process to switch over - probably 20 to 30 years before a significant part of our electric grid is based on renewables.
I just hope that the change-over is done sensibly, and not forced, making it good for both the economy and the environment.
We all should be excited to see the future unfold before our eyes .We all must thank you for your report .
But we must thank Progressive Insurance for sponsoring the X prize . I would like to think in a couple of years they could repeat the contest , only make the prize for a car getting 150 M P G .
Alan I hope you had the chance to go and report first hand on this story . Not just sitting in your office and look over a bunch of pictures , and read a whole lot of press reports . Then build a story from that .
Years ago I traveled across lower Michigan on highway 12 ,passing Michigan International Speedway . The whole area is very beautiful and pleasant . I hope you did go there and can agree .
RON
Without the blessing of the government and the financial support of 1/2 the country this is another dead end effort to change the direction of and thinking about our nations future, its energy needs and usage. This is so badly needed but has zero chances of success since big oil still has oil and big car cannot afford to work together with each other. We need a failure in the car industry that will reduce the number of car companies down to 2or3 because without that collapse these new cars will not have a chance.
Most of the XPrize electric vehicles have something like $10,000+ worth of batteries alone. The Edison2 car is driven by a modified 250cc motorcycle engine. Not only has the Very Light Car acheived the best score on almost every measure (including lowest CO2 emissions, skidpad g's, lane-change handing) - it should cost much less to produce than ANY of the other vehicles. Add to this the benefits of long range, quick refueling, cold weather capability - and it emerges as not just the likely winner of the contest, but the most PRACTICAL all-around car of the bunch too.
There is a tragedy unfolding before our very eyes. Actually many tragedies. 800lb car gets smashed to very tiny pieces by a 4,500lb SUV, and everyone inside the little car dies. I have never owned a small car, and never will if I can help it. All of my cars have been 4-door passenger sedans, and weighed in at around 3,500lbs. As long as the road must be shared with larger vehicles, smaller cars are at greater risk. I understand that even larger cars can be flattened by commercial tractor/trailers (semis), but an 800lb car would only be a speed bump to a semi. We all take our chances where semis are concerned, but I would prefer to have enough mass in my car to protect myself and my passengers from other cars. No car is perfect, no protection is perfect, but it is every driver's responsibility to manage the risks as best as they can. With large SUV's and small trucks everywhere on the road, I feel that any vehicle weighing less then 2800lbs is too small to be safely driven on the roads. And yes, that includes motorcycles.
Sundiver,
I would rather share the road with a 18-wheeler than a SUV with the driver on a cell-phone. Or in Thailand where the motorbikes have 3 & 4 passengers and the drivers are on a cell phone.
These light-weight vehicles should be restricted to city and country roads, just like mopeds.
Come to Thailand where there are thousands of motorbikes, thrown into the mix. With few restrictions on the 18-wheelers, few safety regulations, and double-decker buses. The rule of 'Speed and Mass' is the determining factor to who has the right-of-way. Where center lines are suggestions and driving on the shoulder, opposing the traffic flow is common. Everyday is a driving ADVENTURE. Ha! Ha!
PS - When driving at night in Thailand remember that Elephants wear reflectors, but the water-buffalo and free ranging cows 'Do Not'...... Also if you hit a motorbike, you will be; buying them a new bike, paying ALL medical expenses, paying their family ALL lost wages, and sense you are the 'Farang' you will be automatically at fault.....