Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
I think that the X-Prize competition is fulfilling the objective of focusing on vehicle efficiency. – I am just throwing this out there.
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I tend to agree with you, except that the way the competition is scored is biased toward electric vehicles. They may be dominant in the marketplace,
someday, but the interim solution is probably going to be a petrol-powered vehicle that gets great mileage. I believe a lot of teams (Edison2 excepted) looked at the rules and decided that there was no way to win with gas, so they didn't bother entering. How much innovation was left untapped? We'll never know. Notice that not one major manufacturer entered the Demonstration class. Why not? My guess is: too much hassle, not enough payoff, and again the bias toward electrics. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against electrics - I used to own one - but I think the playing field should be level.
To show an electric that gets 150 MPGe compared to a gas car or hybrid that gets 50 MPG is disingenuous, IMO, because the actual well-to-wheels totals for both cars is about 50 mpg, especially considering the limitations that electrics currently have.