No Radio, but It Gets 100 Miles a Gallon

Three teams of engineers won shares of a $10 million prize Thursday 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 Insurance Automotive 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 goal of the contest, launched in January 2008, was to "revolutionize the auto industry." But mainstream auto makers have mostly shunned the competition and have since overshadowed it by accelerating plans to roll out ultra-efficient cars to sell to consumers.
The Edison2 team, which garnered a $5 million prize, was put together by Charlottesville, Va., real-estate developer Oliver Kuttner and included several veterans of the auto-racing industry.

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 Wave II has an aggressive, aerodynamic look, the result of hours of testing in wind tunnels aimed at reducing friction drag. Las Vegas-based Li-Ion converts conventional vehicles to electric drive and makes the Wave II and another car, the Inizio,to order.
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.

Prize-Winning Cars

Very Light Car
MPG: 102
Fuel: Ethanol
Top Speed: 100 mph
Developed by Edison2 of Lynchburg, Va.
Wave II
MPG: 187
Fuel: Battery
Top Speed: 80 mph
Developed by Li-Ion Motors Corp., Las Vegas
E-Tracer
MPG: 205
Fuel: Battery
Top Speed: 120 mph
Developed by X-Tracer Team, Winterthur, Switzerland

X-Prize winners will also be eligible for financial support from the Department of Energy to develop their designs for sale to consumers.
The competition represents an approach to developing and promoting super-high-mileage cars that big auto makers are leaving behind. Nissan Motors Co., General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and other auto makers are trying to position their planned electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles less as exotic science projects and more as easily approachable appliances.
The Nissan Leaf, for example, is an electric vehicle due to launch later this year that looks like a conventional five-door hatchback—except for unusually bulbous front headlights designed to minimize wind noise, which is more noticeable because the car's electric motors are so quiet.
Also due on the U.S. market later this year is GM's plug-in hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt. Toyota and Ford Motor Co. have plans to launch mass-market electric vehicles in 2011 and beyond.

Automakers, Obama announce mileage, pollution plan

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama wants drivers to go farther on a gallon of gas and cause less damage to the environment - and be willing to pick up the tab.

Obama on Tuesday planned to announce the first-ever national emissions limits for cars and trucks, as well as require a 35.5 miles per gallon standard. Consumers should expect to pay an extra $1,300 per vehicle by the time the plan is complete in 2016, officials said.

The administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement by Obama.

The plan also would effectively end a feud between automakers and statehouses over emission standards - with the states coming out on top but the automakers getting the single national standard they've been seeking and more time to make the changes.

Obama's plan couples for the first time pollution reduction from vehicle tailpipes with increased efficiency on the road. It would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil through 2016 and would be the environmental equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road, senior administration officials said Monday night.

New vehicles would be 30 percent cleaner and more fuel-efficient by the end of the program, according to officials familiar with the administration's discussions. The officials also spoke on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement had not been made.

The plan still must clear regulatory hurdles at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department. Automakers appear to be in support.

Administration officials said consumers were going to pay an extra $700 for mileage standards that had already been approved. The comprehensive Obama plan would add another $600 to the price of a vehicle, a senior administration official said.

The extra miles would come at roughly a 5 percent increase each year. By the time the plan takes full effect, at the end of 2016, new vehicles would cost an extra $1,300.

That official said the cost would be recovered through savings at the pump for consumers who choose a standard 60-month car loan and if gas prices follow government projections.

In a battle over emission standards, California, 13 other states and the District of Columbia have urged the federal government to let them enact more stringent standards than the federal government's requirements. The states' regulations would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and trucks by 2016 - the benchmark Obama planned to unveil for vehicles built in model years 2012 and beyond.

The Obama plan gives the states essentially what they sought and more, although the buildup is slower than the states sought. In exchange, though, cash-strapped states such as California would not have to develop their own standards and enforcement plan. Instead, they can rely on federal tax dollars to monitor the environment.

The auto industry will be required to ramp up production of more fuel-efficient vehicles on a much tighter timeline than originally envisioned. It will be costly; the Transportation Department last year estimated that requiring the industry to meet 31.6 mpg by 2015 would cost nearly $47 billion.

But industry officials - many of whom are running companies on emergency taxpayer dollars - said Obama's plan would help them because they would not face multiple emissions requirements and would have more certainty as they develop their vehicles for the next decade.

Auto executives, including General Motors Corp. CEO Fritz Henderson, and executives from Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Daimler AG and others planned to attend the White House event. United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger also planned to attend, as did Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.