Want A Car That Does 100+ MPG? Build It Yourself!

Sounds spurious.

I would like to see one in action and do some tests, but very interesting none the less.

In 2008, we set out to build a car that would get 100 miles per gallon. Because we wanted this to be something interested MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers could build for themselves, we also set the goals of using off-the-shelf parts and staying within a budget of $10,000 — a reasonable price for a car. And we’ve done it! MAX (MOTHER's Automotive eXperiment) has been demonstrating its 100-mpg capabilities for a full year. (Read more about the journey at 100-MPG Car: MAX.)

Source

Apparently they've only spent 9 of their 10 thousand. THat's pretty impressive.

Thoughts ATS?

~Tenth

Very nice work!

Grats to them.
But considering the MAIN component to their 100MPG vehicle is a second hand (found on craigslist) engine.
Does not make this a 'Anyone can build' car.

Considering these engines wouldn't be all that common now.
So once word gets out that these are highly sought after, expect that $10,000 budget to be blown out.

I commend them for their work, but I will wait for the *NGP Engine.


*NGP - Noble Gas Plasma

Very cool post -- if I had the spare money, I would probably try to build one. Maybe next year after I have some money saved up

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Looks like they are beating their goal as well:

The surprise was, it wasn’t even close to a gallon, it was 0.818 gallon, $3.14, and when the official results were released, my score was 127.38 miles per gallon. Not good enough to win of course; two of the bikes had me beat by a bunch, but still...127 mpg? Really? Read more: www.motherearthnews.com...

I just can't even imagine how many pages of NO! they'll be served with if they try to mass produce. Or even anyone else driving one for that matter.

Big Oil will never allow it.

Nice dream tho.

Peace

Not bad, but an average of 25 MPG in a 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel will get you near 1000k to the tank, and offers a few more creature comforts.

EPA fuel-economy ratings aren’t available yet for the Cayenne, but Porsche estimates it will score 20 mpg city and 28 highway.

www.caranddriver.com...

It's actually a lot cheaper than you might think too, but if Porsche sounds too out there for you, there is always VW Passat and some driving techniques that limit wasteful gas consumption:

A couple well-known for fuel mileage records on regular roads notched 84.1 mpg in a Volkswagen Passat diesel with six-speed manual.

That high mileage let them go 1,621.1 miles on a single tank of fuel in a three-day ramble through nine states from Houston to Northern Virginia, VW and the couple say.

content.usatoday.com...

Of course, if mainstream mileage doesn't cut it, or you are looking to spend your money on a DIY project, by all means build the MAX car. A glorified go-kart. The idea is good, in that it is open source, and anyone in theory can do it. Although, I have a feeling most are going to miss out on what the professional car companies have spent years perfecting, comfort and safety.

MAX’s remarkable fuel economy comes from the car’s 32-horsepower Kubota diesel engine and its streamlined body.

Read more: www.motherearthnews.com...

MAX is great fun on sunny days, but to be truly practical, we need to add an enclosed cabin with a roof, doors, windows and a heater. At present, driving MAX is much like riding a motorcycle, and the only protection you have from the elements is what you wear (glasses or goggles are mandatory).

Read more: www.motherearthnews.com...

Personally, I like a vehicle that can be driven in the winter since it snows most months out of the year. That, and I enjoy the pick-me-up of something slightly bigger than a lawnmower engine.

VW Passat HP is around 140 with 240 lbs of torque. The Cayenne is around 240 horse with 400 lbs of torque

The same site has an article on a 260mpg prototype VW Link


The original car is interesting but it seems to have got its mpg through weight reduction to the point of not even having a roof or a windscreen. I could see that being a problem on a production car

reply to post by jude11

I just can't even imagine how many pages of NO! they'll be served with if they try to mass produce. Or even anyone else driving one for that matter.

Big Oil will never allow it.

Big oil has allowed plenty of cars that are able to get over 50mpg+ on diesel. Check out my previous post. We will have to agree to disagree in this case Jude.

Cheers.

I can't see any mods that are engineering based except streamlining. Do people know what that means? When they do those test they keep the windows up , no aircon, drive at low speeds like my grandmother and make a hell of a lot of mods that commercial cars would not have. Yes its great that they tried but any average driver would not be willing to put up with the restrictions that are apllied to get that economy.

Originally posted by boncho
reply to post by jude11

I just can't even imagine how many pages of NO! they'll be served with if they try to mass produce. Or even anyone else driving one for that matter.

Big Oil will never allow it.

 

Big oil has allowed plenty of cars that are able to get over 50mpg+ on diesel. Check out my previous post. We will have to agree to disagree in this case Jude.

Cheers.

I'm talking about mass production tho. I read some of the links you provided. Is anyone mass producing these?

No, we don't have to agree to do anything! All we need to do is come to a general consensus.

If I'm wrong, so be it.

Peace

Yes, but can you print it out yourself

I think we need an ATS challenge to design an uber aerodynamic shell for a car that can be easily printed out and fitted together from but a hundred or so variations in parts.



reply to post by Bilky


Which is why we should have collision detection, GPS assisted, remote driving systems hooked up to a national super computer mandated on public roads by say. . . 2025 or so.

I think we'd all get there faster, going slower, yet without the idiotic stop and go, road raging retards. You could drink and get anywhere, save fuel, and get laid all while safely traveling to your destination!

reply to post by jude11


The VW Polo Blue Motion Linky gets 80mpg and thats in full production

reply to post by jude11


Yes, here's a list of diesel mileage cars. Most are 25+. The ones listed at 35MPG can get many more miles to the gallon if driven with fuel efficiency driving techniques (which is how these contest cars are usually driven to get their stats anyways).

One couple got over 80MPG with a stock VW.

The rest of the lost MPG goes to things like having an engine that can safely accelerate on the highway. Added weight from safety equipment and things like.... windshields, etc.

If the MAX builders were so great at showing mass production atuomakers what they are doing wrong, they should have built a car ready for mass production that had the same stats, but they can't, because the mass producers are already maximizing the attributes in a well rounded fashion that meets demand.

The truth is, is not many people will want to buy a soapbox powered by a lawnmower engine, that has none of the features that makes driving enjoyable. It's a great hobby car, for what purpose other than green bragging rights... I don't know...

The builders even state it is similar to driving a motorcycle, in which case, you can buy a motorcycle and get same/better mileage.

2012
Yamaha
Zuma 50F
132.0 MPG
1.8 L/100km
M

www.totalmotorcycle.com...

Originally posted by moniesisfun
Yes, but can you print it out yourself

I think we need an ATS challenge to design an uber aerodynamic shell for a car that can be easily printed out and fitted together from but a hundred or so variations in parts.

reply to post by Bilky

 

Which is why we should have collision detection, GPS assisted, remote driving systems hooked up to a national super computer mandated on public roads by say. . . 2025 or so.

I think we'd all get their faster, going slower, yet without the idiotic stop and go, road raging retards. You could drink and get anywhere, save fuel, and get laid all while safely traveling to your destination!

edit on 24-10-2012 by moniesisfun because: (no reason given)

Good idea, especially if it drove itself [not too far off], no more drink driving charges and if somebody was raging at me from another car I could just hold up my scotch and coke and wish them a merry christmas.

reply to post by boncho


I can get 50+ mpg in my 2012 honda fit!

Originally posted by moniesisfun
reply to post by boncho

 

The point is that there are plenty of vehicles that get much better, which are manufactured in the U.S. , but aren't allowed to be sold here, because they don't pass emission testing. The thing is that emission testing looks at emissions per gallon, but neglects to factor that against the average MPG of the vehicle compared to the national average.

It's a cop out to keep the cars off the roads. The heavier explanation is that we get taxes for the public roads from the tax on gas, so if we're saving fuel, we will have crappier roads. It's yet another cop-out, imo. If we wanted to we could change to a flat tax to keep the same budget.

I think it means the ultimate reason is that big oil hires lobbyists to make sure the policy isn't changed, and/or pays of congressmen to keep silent. What else could make sense of it?

This has all been debunked already, and it's been covered a few times that UK calculates mileage differently. The allegation that the US calculates no distance when figuring out efficiency is a flat out lie:

(From the EPA website)

To determine annual greenhouse gas emissions per passenger vehicle, the following methodology was used: vehicle miles traveled (VMT) was divided by average gas mileage to determine gallons of gasoline consumed per vehicle per year. Gallons of gasoline consumed was multiplied by carbon dioxide per gallon of gasoline to determine carbon dioxide emitted per vehicle per year. Carbon dioxide emissions were then divided by the ratio of carbon dioxide emissions to total vehicle greenhouse gas emissions to account for vehicle methane and nitrous oxide emissions.

www.epa.gov...

The rest of the factors that make it seem (or make it different)

It was too expensive and too small in the mid-size sedan segment. So they came up with a larger version with a better price point; and of course the size effects the mileage. [Americans are not nearly so concerned with mileage as Europeans are.]

Third, a US gallon (3.79 L) is less than an Imperial gallon (4.546 L).

Fourth, the US government doesn't stipulate to an automobile company what vehicles they can and cannot sell, other than setting the regulations for things like emissions, with which the manufacturers are required to comply.

Idiots on YouTube debunked.

Originally posted by davespanners
reply to post by jude11

 

The VW Polo Blue Motion Linky gets 80mpg and thats in full production

Thanks,

I'm looking at it.

Peace

reply to post by boncho


Thanks for the information. I stand corrected.

Originally posted by jude11
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

Big Oil will never allow it.

Big Oil could care less on how much MPG you get. They will simply race the price from $4 USD to $12 USD a gallon. Bottom line they will get their money regardless of the MPG and Gov't doesn't care because the higher the cost of gas/diesel the more taxes they get.

Im not being funny, but a scratch built nonsense with a piddling thirty two horsepower under its bonnet is not going to get anyone worth paying attention to into thier workshops. That kind of pulling power wouldnt shift a family of four and thier attendant baggage, let alone be appropriate over long distances. The max speed would be what? Forty miles an hour?

Tell you what, let me know when they can build a one hundred and fifty mile an hour, plus hundred MPG, but otherwise utterly normal car. THAT will be useful. A chewing gum and scotch tape job with a max speed on a par with a vallium addicted eighty year old on foot is not.

Not too impressive really. Diesel's get great mileage and this one in particular is stuffed in a very light vehicle.

Its a great formula for performance and economy. Todays new car safety standards account for much of the extra weight in a production vehicle.