Ecomodders participating in the NY to Paris Great Race 100th anniversary

[RH77]

Originally Posted by krousdb

Go here and scroll down until you find the underbody picture.

http://privatenrg.com/

It's not the best but it gives you an idea what there is to work with.

I just have to say, Wow! ...

Folks, that page has more than just aero.

Is this the kind of feedback equipment you're looking to use, or is that a "trade secret"?

So many questions...
So off-topic

I'll take the info and run with it in another thread -- VERY interesting stuff...

RH77

[igo]

My computer has been down for a few days. Wow this ride looks amazing. Will the teams be giving mpg updates as the ride goes on? It would be pretty cool to see everyones progress.

[MetroMPG]

I believe so - plus there will be map integration. All the vehicles will be equipped with telemetry equipment so you (and the rally organizers) will be able to see where we are at all times. (Not sure how often that will be updated on the web, but I'm assuming daily, at a minimum.)

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by RH77

I just have to say, Wow! ...

Folks, that page has more than just aero.

Is this the kind of feedback equipment you're looking to use, or is that a "trade secret"?

So many questions...
So off-topic

I'll take the info and run with it in another thread -- VERY interesting stuff...

RH77

If you are referring to the prius simulator, that is not really feedback, but predictive in nature. That is Wayne Brown's site and he is well known in the Prius community. Also, a friend of mine. He drove his 04 Prius for 150k miles before trading it in for a TCH. He also has a THH.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I believe so - plus there will be map integration. All the vehicles will be equipped with telemetry equipment so you (and the rally organizers) will be able to see where we are at all times. (Not sure how often that will be updated on the web, but I'm assuming daily, at a minimum.)

From what I saw at the conference last week, from the GR website you will be able to choose a car # and locate it on a map real time and track it's progress. It should be fun.

I have borrowed both of my Boss's GPS's, a Garmin for the car and a Magellin Explorist for hiking. I actually like the hiking one better because it shows instantaneous speed to one decimal place. It does not have an average speed however. The Garmin shows speed with no tenths but does show average speed in tenths. So really, we would need both I think. I will bring both.

[MetroMPG]

The New York Times has picked up the story:

• It ran a feature about the original Great Race today,

• plus a brief article announcing the 2008 version.

Let's hope the potential MPG Challenge vehicle sponsor is nudged further towards saying "yes" by the prospect of more publicity to come.

[NoCO2]

Man, this sounds so awesome! I had no idea they had an MPG class for this rally. I'll have to talk to one of my buddies about doing this in the future. Maybe not the 100th anniversary seeing that I just found out about it, but this seems like it would be a LOT of fun. I would love to know how you're going about getting the sponsors to pony up the $$$,$$$ for the entrance into it.

[MetroMPG]

The organizers of Hybridfest are working on the sponsorship deal.

[MetroMPG]

Another bit of coverage, this time in the NYT Wheels blog.

Regarding the MPG challenge portion:

“They will have to keep up, and stay on time,� Mr. Ewing noted. “None of this dawdling along at 20 miles an hour, to get high mileage numbers. This is a time-speed-distance rally. We will be tracking entrants with GPS. So they’ve got to keep within a certain time window, while trying to achieve the best fuel economy they can.�

The piece also mentions the "Innovation Class" vehicles:

“We will have cars running on up to five different fuels,� said Mike Ewing, a spokesman for the race organizers. “Biodiesel, ethanol, methane, propane and, of course, gasoline. We can’t have anything too exotic, such as hydrogen, which we are not allowed to use in China. We will also have hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrids.�

More: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008...eat+race&scp=1

[MetroMPG]

Yesterday, Feb 12, marked 100 years since the start of the original race. To mark the event, a number of participants in the upcoming 2008 rally drove through Times Square at the exact moment the 1908 race began.

You know the Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the other"? Start singing it .... now!