New Cars Get 100 to 300 MPG

[Central Scrutinizer]

Cool! I want one. -Cent

 

 

The Alé from FuelVapor Technologies runs on fumes and goes 0-60 in under five seconds. â??red car.

 

In 2009 carmakers from around the world will go head-to-head in a race to prove they can deliver a 100-mpg car. Big names and hopeful hacks alike will have to show that their vehicles are not only economical and green, but economically realistic and practical.

 

"Our competition is not about concept vehicles. Our competition is not about science experiments," says Don Foley, the senior director of the Automotive X PRIZE (AXP for short). The race is about proving to the world that ultra-efficient cars are not only possible, but safe, affordable, and desirable for mainstream Americans.

 

The AXP, with its impressive X PRIZE $10 million cash purse, is being put on by the X PRIZE Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that raises multimillion-dollar prizes for scientific and technological challenges. The creator of the foundation, Peter Diamandis, drew his inspiration from the $25,000 reward that lured the young Charles Lindbergh to risk his life flying from New York to Paris in 1927.

 

The first $10 million X PRIZE went to Mojave Aerospace Ventures in 2004 (an outfit led by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen), for flying their SpaceShipOne into sub-orbital space and back. Rutan's ship now hangs in the Smithsonian next to the Spirit of St. Louis.

 

The X-Racers

 

The list of X PRIZE contestants reads like a who's-who of the hopeful green car market: Aptera, Tesla, ZAP, Loremo, Phoenix Motorcars and Commuter Cars Corp. (maker of George Clooney's favorite, the Tango). A team of engineering students at Cornell University, with funding from Popular Mechanics magazine, has also entered the running. No major automakers have suggested they will join, but almost everyone involved in the AXP hopes that Detroit's big three and others will jump in.

 

Competitors will pick between two categories: "mainstream," for cars with four seats and (at least) four wheels, and "alternative," that will allow three wheels and two passengers. ZAP Motors plans to have one of each ready for 2009. Based in Santa Rosa, Calif., ZAP sells electric scooters, ATVs, and neighborhood vehicles.

 

Better known for its press releases than for its actual automobiles, ZAP's two forthcoming highway-ready electric cars will both be contenders for the X PRIZE. But winning is not ZAP's highest goal, and Chairman Gary Star is excited to see the green carmakers of the world brought together around the AXP. "Our goal is not necessarily to win the prize, but to bring cost-effective electric vehicles to the world."

 

Malcolm Bricklin, the CEO of Visionary Vehicles, will also be content whether he wins or not, but he still seems confident about his prospects. Bricklin built his career as an early importer of Japanese cars and the famously terrible Yugo. He also built a problematic sports car, the Bricklin SV-1, that tanked in the late '70s.

 

Bricklin is now planning to mass produce a plug-in hybrid luxury sedan by mid-2008, a mostly electric car with the amenities of a Mercedes S-Class that gets "in excess of 100 MPG." This is the car that Bricklin plans to enter in the X PRIZE race.

 

"It's going to be the same car we are going to build. So we fit into the X PRIZE pretty perfectly." But even if he doesn't win, Bricklin sees the event as a gathering of the fittest, and the cars that rise to the top he plans to sell through his own distribution network.

 

Everything but the Cupholders

 

Through its series of stage races in cities across America, the X PRIZE is trying to change the way the world makes cars â?? not by pushing new laws, but by enticing free-market players to step up to the plate.

 

For this reason, winning the AXP doesn't mean just getting the equivalent of 100 mpg and placing first, but also submitting a business strategy to show the car is not only production-capable (at least 10,000 per year), but that the public will actually want to buy it.

 

Because the X PRIZE is about cars that can really come to life, there will be no groomed racetracks, special fuels or stripped-down chassis. "We're very interested in making sure that each of the stages represents driving habits and standards that people actually go through every day. We want rough road conditions, we want hill climbs, we want winter weather, we want summer weather," Foley insists.

 

Cars entered into the mainstream category are required to have heat and air conditioning, proper mirrors, wipers and the like. "We stipulate in our rules everything but the cupholders. We even stipulate that they have to have a sound system," Foley explains.

 

The X PRIZE wants to rustle up some change in an industry that has been at a standstill for 30 years. A potential victory for consumers and the environment, it could also ensure the success of the winning team. "We will enjoy cashing that check, I'll tell you that," says Aptera founder Steve Fambro. Then again, Foley says, "Just as we've found through American Idol, the person who wins is not necessarily the winner. The marketplace determines that."

 

Jacob Gordon is a freelance writer, a blogger for TreeHugger.com, and producer of TreeHugger Radio.

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Aptera: The 'Wingless Bird'

Slated for initial production in late 2008, the Aptera will come in all-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Its name means "wingless" in Greek, and the Aptera's body materials and aerodynamics are borrowed from light aircraft. Say they can produce it to sell for less than $30,000. 300mpg.

 

When Steve Fambro got bored building robots at a San Diego genetics company, he figured he could help keep his brain busy by building a kit airplane in his spare time. But his wife deemed the hobby too dangerous, so Fambro decided to build a car instead, one with low emissions and absurdly high mileage. Called the Aptera (Greek for "wingless"), the machine now exists as a working prototype. It has 2.5 seats, three wheels, weighs a feathery 1,500 pounds, and Fambro says his company will put the Aptera into production next October.

 

Specs may change between now and autumn 2008, but the current numbers look like this: 300 mpg, a price tag below $30,000, and 0-60 acceleration of 11 seconds (about a second slower than the Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid). The Aptera will come in two versions: the all-electric Typ-1e; and the series-hybrid Typ-1h, with a small onboard gasoline engine capable of recharging the battery. According to Fambro the all-electric Aptera is expected to go roughly 120 miles on a full charge, while the series hybrid will travel 600 miles on a full battery and a full tank of gas â?? the equivalent of 300 mpg.

 

High Mileage + High Design

 

Fambro isn't trying to keep his inspiration source a secret. His MySpace page shows him beside a single-seat plane with a striking resemblance to his automotive creation. This sleek minimalism is what Jason Hill and his design firm (known simply as "11") brought to the Aptera.

 

Hill was scooped up by Mercedes right after graduating from Pasadena's Art Center College of Design. When he started his own firm 14 years later, Hill was doing special projects for Porsche. And when Fambro approached him with the first incarnation of the Aptera, Hill said "Let me at it."

 

Hill and his firm were entrusted with not only evolving the fiberglass bird into a consumer-friendly car, but also creating a complete user experience with its own brand identity. Ecological considerations were high on the list, and Hill readily incorporated flooring made from 100 percent recycled soda bottles, as well as seat, door, and overhead fabrics from post-industrial recycled sources.

 

The Aptera's roof houses a strip of solar cells that serve double duty. In hot weather they power the parked car's air conditioner, keeping the interior cool for when the driver returns. The same solar system also helps charge the central battery, adding supplemental power.

 

Since the majority of an automobile's energy is spent displacing air and hauling its own weight, a light and slippery design is vital. Hill helped smooth and lighten the Aptera by replacing the side mirrors and rear window with rear-facing cameras that display on three dashboard monitors. The already sleek package is rounded out with slick aesthetic touches, including a glowing exterior logo and accelerator/brake pedals embossed with plus and minus signs.

 

Fighting the Safety Stigma

 

Although Asian automakers have taken an early lead when it comes to greener cars, American automotive ingenuity is catching up fast. The spark, though, isn't coming from Detroit, but from comparatively microscopic startups fueled by Silicon Valley capital. One of Aptera's key investors is Idealab, better known for software than cars. Jumping into the game with Detroit's big hitters is no small thing, so these nimble companies are finding ways to fast-track their projects.

 

One favored method is to make three-wheeled vehicles that technically classify as motorcycles. Unburdened from the DOT's myriad safety criteria, small companies can proceed with far fewer hurdles. Makers of the ZAP! Alias, VentureOne and Carver One electric cars are all pursuing three-wheeled success.

 

But doubts about safety and road-worthiness are a common criticism from both consumers and competitors. Speaking at the brainy Gadgetoff conference, the co-founder of Tesla Motors, Martin Eberhard, showed video of the $100,000 Tesla electric Roadster in successful crash tests. Eberhard quipped that this is the difference between a product like his, and a "three-wheeled imaginary car that would never be safe on the highway."

 

Aptera founder Fambro insists his vehicle is not an overgrown motorcycle, and that it's every bit as safe as a comparable car. Within its fiberglass shell is a steel and aluminum safety cage inspired by Formula One racecars, and the Aptera's airbags are encased within its seatbelts. The Aptera also has a particularly wide wheelbase to provide stability, a 45-inch front crumple zone, and a cockpit that sits higher off the road than you'd expect, giving better visibility. Fambro says the Aptera has "performed beautifully" in computer-based crash tests. Next comes the real thing.

 

Step Right Up

 

For early adopters wanting to reserve an Aptera, the company is accepting $500 refundable deposits (they've received 400 to date). The financial commitment will guarantee a customer dibs on the first round of vehicles, and will also help Aptera judge which powertrain is more desirable.

 

If the Aptera comes to life, an all-electric and highway-ready car for under $30,000 will certainly change the game. Fambro and Hill are dead-set on seeing the Aptera through to commercial reality. "It's not just a show car that a manufacturer puts out and then you never see again," says Hill. "The Aptera is 90-percent production ready."

 

Jacob Gordon is a freelance writer, a blogger for TreeHugger.com, and producer of TreeHugger Radio. He can be reached at jacob@treehugger.com.

 

:thumbup:

[Flashermac]

So somebody is updating the 1950s Messerschmidt???

 

 

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

I like the Ale'. Although the one taken from airplane tech gets triple the mileage!

 

Cent

[Flashermac]

Lots of 'em