SCI/TECH: 1,194 Miles to the Gallon Will Only Get Ya Third Place, page 1

posted on Jul, 14 2004 @ 01:04 PM

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It might suprise most people who are used to getting 20-40 miles to the gallon when they drive, that new, experimental cars are getting 1,700 miles to the gallon. In a contest held every year by SAE to design fuel efficent single-passenger vehicles, this years winner came out on top with 1747.4 miles to the gallon. Third place was barely notable with 1,194 miles to the gallon.

www.ascribe.org
TERRE HAUTE, Ind., June 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Engineering students at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology designed a fuel efficient one-person vehicle that achieved 1,194 miles per gallon of gasoline in the Society of Automotive Engineers' Supermileage Competition, conducted last weekend near Detroit.

That performance placed third out of 24 teams in the collegiate division, a remarkable achievement for a first-year team in the competition, according to Tom Edelmayer, a technical specialist for Eaton Corporation's Engine Air Management Operations. Eaton hosted the annual engineering contest at the company's vehicle proving grounds in Marshall, Mich.

Rose-Hulman engineering students designed and constructed a one-person vehicle that is powered by a highly modified single cylinder 3.5 horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine. The vehicle is eight feet long, 26 inches wide and weighed approximately 80 pounds. It has two wheels that provide steering in the front and a single drive wheel in the middle of the back. The main structure of the vehicle is provided by a honeycomb carbon-fiber panel which rests approximately a half inch above the pavement.

The vehicle completed six laps around the proving grounds (9.6 miles) while maintaining a minimum average speed of 15 miles per hour. Edelmayer said that a typical 9.6-mile run burns an average of about 14 grams of fuel, which weighs about as much as 14 paper clips. Each team's fuel is measured before and after each run. The difference is calculated to determine the contest winner.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The future is bright for the automobile industry indeed, whether oil is going to run out of supply or not. Of course you are all thinking, "Well if they get gas milage like this, why don't we?" and that is a good question.

Of course this competition is pitiful in comparison with one held by the Shell corporation a few years back where a competing vehicle got 8,128 miles to the gallon.

Related News Links:
science.slashdot.org
www.sae.org

[edit on 14-7-2004 by Banshee]

TheBandit795

posted on Jul, 14 2004 @ 01:18 PM

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I think that there's too much money to be lost in letting vehicles with similar gas mileage to go into production.

shanti23

posted on Jul, 14 2004 @ 01:40 PM

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Make it prefabricated and easy to assemble

Mind you, road safety would take on new meaning... hmm

[edit on 14-7-2004 by shanti23]

Phaethor

posted on Jul, 14 2004 @ 03:51 PM

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Can you imagine if they were able to combine the fuel efficiency of these vehicles with an alternative fuel source such as Hydrogen (from Water using a Hydrogen on demand) like Genesis World Energy's HICEF (Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Fuel)

www.greaterthings.com...

I agree safety issues would have to be addressed so that the vehicles meet safety standards. That would be great.

Phaethor

ShadowXIX

posted on Jul, 14 2004 @ 03:59 PM

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Make the things have a higher average top speed of 15mph and these things might take off in a market place. I would settle for 500miles per gallon if it could do 60mph.

Big Erle

posted on Jul, 14 2004 @ 04:09 PM

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Problem is, these things are really impractical. as soon as you add enough space for another passenger or three and some groceries, you multiply the weight by five, and the air resistance goes way up, too. then you run into safety standards, and the weight goes up again. oh, you wanted a radio? headlights? windsheild wipers? onboard electric starter? probably 100 mpg is realistically acheiveable, but like the man said, there's a lot of money in selling gasoline.

Outland

posted on Jul, 17 2004 @ 04:12 AM

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Phaethor pondered:
"Can you imagine if they were able to combine the fuel efficiency of these vehicles with an alternative fuel source such as Hydrogen (from Water using a Hydrogen on demand) like Genesis World Energy's HICEF (Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Fuel)"

I can't believe that the scam that is GWE was even mentioned on such a respectable forum as ATSN.

Majic

posted on Jul, 18 2004 @ 05:43 AM

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Bert Rutan designed and built a plane that flew around the world on a single tank of fuel, but we don't expect commercial airliners to be able to do the same. So it should be with automobiles.

Does that mean current production automobiles can't be made more energy efficient? Heck no, of course not. But it is much easier said than done.

When you see what you actually get in a car that can get 100 MPG these days, you'll see why no one would want to pay top dollar for a gutless wonder with no frills. But technology will improve, with the prices of fuels and consumer interest pushing things along.

Outland: Ditto on GWE. What a crock.

Genesis World Energy Watch

Genesis World Energy Under Investigation for Fraud

"Edison device?" More like "P.T. Barnum device." Patrick Kelly and his foul minions are con artists who deserve to be mercilessly flogged with a wet long-chain hydrocarbon.

Outland

posted on Jul, 18 2004 @ 01:22 PM

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Originally posted by Majic
"Edison device?" More like "P.T. Barnum device." Patrick Kelly and his foul minions are con artists who deserve to be mercilessly flogged with a wet long-chain hydrocarbon.

Whoa! I detect the presence of an IQ here.

TheBandit795

posted on Jul, 19 2004 @ 06:49 AM

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I'm glad to see that there are reviews that show GWE to be con-artists now. When I first saw that site, I googled and googles and found nothing to disprove it.