2010-09-20

Getting 100 Miles a Gallon. By Joseph B. White, WSJournal, September 17, 2010. "Three teams of engineers won shares of a $10 million prize Thursday [September 16] in a contest to design a vehicle capable of traveling 100 miles on the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. Among the exotic-looking vehicles that shared the Progressive Automotive Insurance X-Prize was the Very Light Car, winner in the 'mainstream' class. The four-passenger vehicle, developed by the Edison2 Team, achieved the equivalent of 102 miles per gallon. It weighs just 830 pounds and burns E-85 ethanol in a one-cylinder, 40-horsepower engine.

"The two other winning teams, which were awarded $2.5 million each at the ceremony in Washington, D.C., fielded even more exotic vehicles in what contest organizers called alternative classes. Li-Ion Motors Corp.'s Wave II, a battery-electric car designed to seat two people side by side, achieved the equivalent of 187 mpg. Li-Ion said the car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 12 seconds and hit a top speed of 80 mph… The other prize winner was the E-Tracer, a two-wheel electric vehicle developed by a Swiss team. The vehicle looks like a large motorcycle with a wraparound body. The passenger sits behind the driver. The battery-powered E-Tracer has a small set of training wheels that fold out to stabilize the vehicle. Contest judges said it could get the gasoline equivalent of 205 mpg."

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