X Prize Marks the Spot: 100mpg or Better
The Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) challenge is offering a multi-million dollars prize to anyone who can build a marketable car capable of 100 mpg or more. There's only one catch: the X PRIZE Foundation doesn't have the prize money, yet. The Foundation is a self-described "educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity." They're trying to raise prize funds by "seeking assistance from major foundations, corporations and philanthropic individuals to help bring about this revolution in transportation." So far, 30 teams from the US, Canada, and Europe have signed up for the challenge. The major automakers are conspicuous in their absence, but if they could come up with 100-mpg technology they'd be patenting it and turning huge profits from selling ultra-economy vehicles.
More by Frank Williams
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define marketable...
Here's a link to a PDF document with the Auto X Prize draft competition guidelines. Pages 3 and 4 discuss the X Prize definition of "production-capable vehicles." Note that the fourth bullet point requires that vehicle entrants must "articulate clear and viable business cases for bringing their vehicles to market." Whatever one may think about the chances of success, at least the Auto X Prize folks aren't simply promising "pie in the sky, by and by." Their rules demand that the pie in the sky had better be nigh (to a production vehicle)....
Japanese "Mileage Maniacs" are already doing this in their Priuseseses http://puregreencars.com/Green-Cars-News/Other-Green-Car-News/Prius-Mileage-Maniac.html