This weekend marked the third annual Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club’s fuel economy competition, which takes place on the beautiful back roads just to the west of Albany, NY.

This was the first year that EcoModder came out to the event, and it was definitely a great time. Event organizer Mike Kamm included, 7 EcoModders came to the event and competed in two of the three categories.

The course was a 104 mile loop through the Adirondacks on winding roads that challenged not just the average ecodriver, but would challenge any driver. Unlike many fuel economy courses, this one had huge hills that challenged drivers to work hard and pick up mileage wherever they could.

All told, EcoModder took home 4 of the 6 awards its members were eligible for. In the diesel/hybrid category member tasdrouille took home first place in his 2000 Jetta TDI with an astounding 90 mpg. Second place went to Matt Herring in his new Toyota Prius, with an impressive 76 mpg over the course.

In the gasoline non-hybrid category, EcoModder had four competitors. Though Robert Smalls and Wonderboy did not take home prizes, they both got well over 200% of their EPA ratings. Robert drove his Subaru Legacy to a very impressive 47 mpg while Wonderboy made a record run of 65 mpg in his Civic EX.

I took home the 3rd place prize, with 83 mpg in my 91 Honda CRX, with my EcoModder co-founder Darin taking second place with a very impressive 106 mpg in his Pontiac Firefly (Geo Metro). The 1st prize went to Chang Ho Kim in his aeromodded 89 CRX, which shocked everyone with 118 mpg in his first fuel economy competition.

Also notable was event organizer Mike Kamm‘s 77 mpg Datsun B210. He would’ve easily taken the top prize in the historic class but instead decided to compete in the gasoline class and came in 4th place by less than  one-tenth of a gallon of gasoline.

Definitely an event we will be attending again next year!

This past weekend EcoModder was in Madison, Wisconsin, attending the ever-fun GreenDriveExpo powered by HybridFest. Though EcoModder was also in attendance last year, this year marked the first time members had competed in the MPG Challenge.

The course was challenging rural/downtown loop of approximately 25 miles that took the drivers on both low and high speed roads, which were peppered with with stop lights and stop signs. It was the sort of course that is perfect for hybrid owners with auto-stop, but less perfect for those of us with traditional gassers.

To ensure that drivers completed the loop at normal speeds without annoying the heck out of other drivers, a time limit of 51 minutes was imposed. Both of the competitors from EcoModder came in well below this time limit, but not so much as to suggest it is unreasonably slow.

In the end, the two EcoModders in attendance came in at 62 MPG and 65 MPG, which were a bit low due to rain and wet roads that affected the drivers that went out later in the day. Because the competition was run based on percent over EPA rating and not standard MPG, the 1991 CRX with 65 MPG came out on top, scoring something like 160% over EPA due to some advanced ecomodding.

Overall, a fun competition that brought out the best mileage in some cars and drivers. Hopefully we will see some of you in attendance next year!

Every year, the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan adds a few influential people to their archives. The Automotive Hall of Fame has the task of preserving the most important ideas and moments in automotive history, so it’s quite an honor to be inducted.

That’s why I was happy to hear at the New York International Auto Show that Wunibald Kamm, designer of the Kammback, will be inducted in 2009. In 1938, he helped BMW design the first Kamm-Coupe, a 328 with a .25 drag coefficient, matching the first generation Honda Insight.

Clearly, his ideas were ahead of his time and never widely adopted, but with fuel economy coming back to the forefront of automotive design, Kamm is finally getting some attention.

This is of special import to us ecomodders, since the Kammback is one of the most effective and possibly coolest looking aeromods around. For some more reading on actual Kammbacks (including the one in the picture above), check out these threads:

• Geo Metro Kammback Design and Construction: Step by step.
• Better Minivan Gas Mileage with a Kammback: 3.7% better, to be exact.
• Civic VX Kammback: Clean looking install on a Civic VX.
• Building a Del Sol Kammback: The Del Sol is a perfect Kammback candidate.
• Another Civic Hatch Kammback: Another clean-looking Kammback

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRHY6dmZmGI

Today, at the New York International Auto Show, the new VW Golf took home top honors as the World Car of the Year. The award was decided by a panel of 59 jurors from many countries and reflects the industry’s shift towards smaller, more functional vehicles.

Also in the running for the award were the Ford Fiesta and the Toyota iQ, two other small, fuel efficient vehicles. While the Golf has the worst fuel economy of the three, it is still above average and has been a proven model in the VW lineup for many decades. Congratulations to VW for the honor. Check out the video if you’re interested in the awards ceremony.

This morning at the New York International Auto show, the Fiat 500 was awarded the prestigious World Car Design of the Year Award. The award was decided by a panel of jurors from around the world, who picked the Fiat 500 from a group of three finalists.

The Fiat 500 took top honors for this award because of it’s smooth Italian styling, as well as innovative design that is perfect for not only the Italian market, but that has captured audiences around the world.

This morning at the New York International Auto show, the Honda FCX Clarity was awarded the prestigious World Car of the Year Award. The award was decided by a panel of jurors from around the world, who picked the Honda FCX Clarity from three finalists.

The three finalists for 2009 were the Toyota iQ, Honda FCX Clarity, and Mitsubishi i MiEV. To win the award the car needs to be all new and have been released for fleet or consumer sales during 2008.

Also weighing in on the decision were three green panelists, one each from North America, Europe, and Japan. The FCX Clarity was selected for its prominence as a pioneer in new technology as well as a leader in bringing that car to market.