Article: Two decades later, Bellingham man puts 100 mpg car back on the road

[MetroMPG]

Two decades later, Bellingham man puts 100 mpg car back on the road - Bellingham Herald



Some ofyou may have seen this one before.

- originally built in '84
- builders claim 100 mpg (US) at 60 mph, 80 mpg At 70 mph, 114 mpg at 55 mph
- 1500 lbs
- fiberglass/aluminum construction
- unspecified 3-cyl Mercedes diesel engine
- plan to enter an updated version in the Automotive X-Prize contest

[In 1986...] the duo drove the car from the U.S./Mexico border to Vancouver, B.C. - averaging 103.7 miles per gallon and spending less than $15 on the diesel that fueled their drive into the Guinness Book of World Records.

...

"Nobody really cared. Big deal. Fuel was cheap. There was a glut of fuel," Henderson, 51, recalled earlier this week. "Fast forward to today. Things change, don't they?"

Avion website: Fuel Economy over 100 miles per gallon - Avion

[bbjsw10]

And they say technology has advanced. Looks super slippery.

[trebuchet03]

mmm, I've seen that website before... It's a very pretty car... And truly shows it's more classic styling with a very long front hood.

I wonder if they still have the tooling for the body construction....

[cfg83]

MetroMPG -

Oh yeah, I think I watched the video (here on Ecomodder?!?!?!). I would love it if he won. Talk about vindication! I love his original wheels, but he's gone with Racing Disks on his latest contestant. Great Job!

CarloSW2

[MetroMPG]

Yeah, I thought there might be another Avion post hanging around here somewhere. I did a quick search and didn't turn anything up before I posted...

Personally, I like those racing discs better.

[Big Dave]

Nice looking car. The engine is probably the 4 cylinder from a 240D. No doubt a manual transmission

I wonder why he took it off the road. Even with cheap fuel 100 MPG is cheaper to drive than 25 MPG. He probably could not insure it.

Unfortunately with its indirect combustion engine it isn't within shouting distance of complying with Tier II, and 1500 lb without carbon fiber, no way it meets US crash safety minimums.

[MetroMPG]

He'd do well to stick in the 899 (?) cc diesel from the previous gen smart fortwo if he's going for ultimate mileage. Of course that does nothing for the emissions/safety regs.

[1.5Ldave]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Nice looking car. The engine is probably the 4 cylinder from a 240D. No doubt a manual transmission

I wonder why he took it off the road. Even with cheap fuel 100 MPG is cheaper to drive than 25 MPG. He probably could not insure it.

Unfortunately with its indirect combustion engine it isn't within shouting distance of complying with Tier II, and 1500 lb without carbon fiber, no way it meets US crash safety minimums.

A car from 84 doesnt have to meet modern safety standards. The emissions standards are also way easier to meet for older vehicles.

[Big Dave]

For a singleton prototype from the mid-80s, twenty-first century emissions and safety standards indeed do not apply. But the X-car was for a car that has a chance of being commercially manufactured.

By time this car meets Tier II and crashworthiness standards, I think 100 MPG will be beyond his car. But I wish him luck.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Nice looking car. The engine is probably the 4 cylinder from a 240D. No doubt a manual transmission

iono, the 240D I used to drive had fairly terrible mileage for what people think it should get, as a diesel. I pitty those that might find the car at a used car dealer and get sold that it's a diesel and therefore gets high mileage... Later they find mpg figures in the mid 20's (I think best tank was 29ish) while tooling around on the highway at 55mph :/

I'm not saying it's impossible (I'd love to know exactly what's in there), but the 240D wasn't anywhere near the pinnacle of fuel efficiency (the even older Datsun 510 got at least the same FE).

That aside, I loved that 240 (it's what I learned to drive stick on and when a door closed, you knew it) The car is still on the road too, it was sold with over 300k miles on the clock (damn I still wish I had the car)