Fuel economy Kidding Around, at 2000 MPG

Published on June 26th, 2011 | by Jo Borrás

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Kidding Around, at 2000 MPG

You read that right:  two-thousand miles per gallon … and (in case you missed the reference), these 2000 mpg vehicles were built by a bunch of school-aged tweenie-boppers.  That’s huge – but let’s step back from that, though, and take a few moments to enjoy the schadenfreude.

A few short months ago (with the septuagenarians at the big three crying their eyes out over a 42 mpg CAFE standard) you could almost be forgiven for believing that there really are some insurmountable physics holding back fuel economy progress.  I say “almost” of course, because even a 42 mpg standard (which GM and BMW seem to think are “ridiculous”) seems – if anything – to be a little low.  That’s especially true in the face of current efficiency champions like VW’s 60+ mpg diesels and pure EVs like Nissan’s Leaf (whose range-concerns are quickly becoming a thing of the past), and doesn’t even take into account a hoard of new material and drivetrain technologies coming out of universities like MIT and U Minn (not to mention Volvo, which is on a bit of a green-tech-roll).

In the face of prototypes like the ones these kids have built, such concerns about 40 mpg cars really seem more “generational” than “technical” – back to the real story, then:  the kids!

The kids were students (and student teams) from regional schools, and took part in the annual Mileage Marathon Challenge, with each team vying to set new mpg records on a closed course.  The vehicles were allowed to coast, however, but had to maintain a minimum speed of 15 mph to stay in contention.  Several area design and engineering firms provided the kids with technical support, but the winner of the 20-team competition (below) was built by 14-year-old Sam Chapman-Hill, who achieved 1,980 mpg in a 100-lb fiberglass “car”.

Congrats to Sam, then – now get yourself over to the F1 paddock, my son.  Williams could use a hand!

Sources:  TechCrunch, the BBC.



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About the Author

I've been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and write for a number of blogs in the Important Media network. You can find me on Twitter, Skype (jo.borras) or Google+.


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  • http://Web Origo

    Two-thousand miles per gallon sounds great, but it perpetuates the use of carbon-based gasoline or diesel fuel.
    How about 10,000 miles per gallon or more? By using water as a fuel, and dissociating it into hydrogen and oxygen, vehicles with water-splitting systems onboard could get unlimited mileage. Research teams have developed polymer electrodes to take the place of platinum electrodes in fuel cells and in electrolysis systems. Photocatalysts that use sunlight as an external source of energy will make ordinary electrolysis systems obsolete. Molybdenum sulfide has been discovered as an electro-photo-catalyst. Cheap titanium dioxide is a photocatalyst that responds to ultraviolet light.
    Internal combustion engines, properly modified, can run on hydrogen.
    The strategy is to use a photocatalyst system onboard a motor vehicle to make more hydrogen during daylight hours than is needed, store it onboard, and use the hydrogen for night driving. Alternatively,use electric lighting to provide the light for the photocatalyst.
    Water is carbon-free, and it is recyclable. It requires no exploration, drilling, refining, transportation, gas stations, mining, or disposal of coal fly ash or nuclear waste. Moreover, using water as a fuel will not consume atmospheric oxygen, nor pollute the atmosphere.
    Say goodbye to Big Oil. Use oils as raw material to make plastics and ashphalt paving.
    Origo

  • http://Web someoneelse

    High mileage cars are easy when you don’t have to worry about minimum speed, comfort, or (most importantly) crash worthyness. When you start having to build to DOT crash standards, you add a lot of weight.

    I would like to see the VW 1L actually get produced, tho.

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