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.
Find Reviews by Make:
Read all comments
At present, anyone who comes up with such a vehicle and makes it to the headlines, will be killed. Actually, they will probably be off’ed before they make major headlines. There is so much money behind the status quo, it won’t happen. Just look at the electric car. Those Tesla corp. guys better watch their backs; our auto/oil industry will protect their interests.
Marketable is the key word.
Please announce the Hippo Prize for someone that can come up with a “marketable” car capable of 105 mpg, make it multi million + (payable as soon as the plans are sold).
There is so much money behind the status quo, it won’t happen. … our auto/oil industry will protect their interests.
Are you talking about the same auto industry players that are losing money and market share hand over fist? Yeah, I can see why they’d want to pass on a product that the buying public desperately wants.
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