quest for, 100 mpg Options

[Divergent Realit...]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/03/09/cars.10...psci/index.html

Steve Fambro may have tinkered his way into the solution. His Aptera, which he designed in his garage in Carlsbad, California, is a three-wheeled, bullet-shaped two-seater that minimizes drag and weighs only 850 pounds (the Toyota Prius weighs 2,890 pounds). He cut bulk by using a carbon composite frame, a race-inspired solution that should help with crash absorption.

mighty effin light compared to the toyota tic tac

[impala454]

getting 100mpg by shaving 2000 lbs off and making the car impractical doesn't say much in my book. i'm sure the thing has the torque of a model train set.

[psidancer]

And when you get hit by someone in their Excursion, the crumpled remains can double as a coffin. It would be a shame to scratch up the bottom of the Excursion's bumper like that, though.

[Mommy]

looks stupid too

[Dogmeat]

Wow. I'm a genius. I can put a motor on a beercan and drive it around and claim it's a turnip. Yay.

[chook]

Didn't that high school class make a car that got 100 mpg before?

[Seussninja]

ugh what a dumbass for trying to do something incredible seriously fuck that guy

[pysex]

ugh what a dumbass for trying to do something incredible seriously fuck that guy

agreed

[THECHICKEN]

A mini looks more practical than that.

Discovery channel had a 2 seater car that looked similar except it was one wheel in front, two in back and rode like a motorcycle (as in leaned when turning). And that seemed more practical than this car.

A for effort though

[impala454]

well that's the problem... how much effort was there? the guy basically built a damn motorcycle with seats. well no shit sherlock of course you're gonna get more mileage out of a car that's geared low and weighs 2000 lbs less than the next lightest car. what happens when you get 4 big dudes in the car? is your mileage cut in half? it's freakin stupid. here's a quarter, call me when they have a practical vehicle that gets 100mpg.

[chook]

little 250 cc motorcycles get about 80 mpg, he did better chuck.

[impala454]

right but how's the thing geared? what's its 0-60? not that i'm saying acceleration is important, but if all the guy did was build a tricycle that's got a motorcycle engine and geared low, it doesnt seem that revolutionary. i give the guy props though, because he'll essentially be selling motorcycles to treehuggers for $20,000. in that the man's a genius.

now this (from the same pop sci article) is innovative to me:

One radical solution under development at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Advanced Technology Division is to get rid of the heavy batteries altogether. The EPA has built a modified hybrid that uses a hydraulic system, not a battery, to store braking energy. When you press the brakes, the wheels drive a pump that compresses nitrogen gas, which is inexpensive and inert. When you accelerate again, that compressed gas runs the pump in reverse to help power the vehicle

The hydraulic-hybrid system, scheduled to begin testing in two UPS trucks this month, with another to follow next year, promises to return at least 70 percent of the braking energy back to the wheels, which would lead to a 60 to 70 percent jump in fuel economy and a 40 percent reduction in emissions.

[Spectatrix]

Plug-in hybrids can easily get 100 mpg. In fact, I recall reading about a modified Prius a while back that got something close to 300 mpg. It had several thousand dollars worth of batteries in the trunk, but still...

[GOB]

Plug-in hybrids can easily get 100 mpg. In fact, I recall reading about a modified Prius a while back that got something close to 300 mpg. It had several thousand dollars worth of batteries in the trunk, but still...

yeah, there are a pretty good amount of people that have done that. enough to where it's noticeable. the only problem with that is it voids any warranty on the car.

my dad got a prius about 2 years ago. he averages about 50mpg, which is nothing spectacular, but still, it's gotta be nice to fill up once a month on a 10gal tank. the trunk on that thing is basically built to hold more batteries, it's just a matter of people being willing to do it (and knowing how) or toyota stepping up and doing it.

[False Dude]

Plug-in hybrids can easily get 100 mpg. In fact, I recall reading about a modified Prius a while back that got something close to 300 mpg. It had several thousand dollars worth of batteries in the trunk, but still...

I wonder how fast that car accelerates. A normal Prius will accelerate 0-60 in 10 seconds. So I'm assuming one that does 300mpg will be a few seconds slower.