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If a car that gets 100 miles per gallon of gasoline sounds like a driver's futile fantasy, think again.
Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden are testing a spruced-up Toyota Prius, a plug-in hybrid sedan complete with a solar panel attached to its oval roof and a bigger battery in the trunk to supply power in lieu of the gasoline-fueled engine.
The result: A spunky Prius that runs the initial 60 miles mostly on battery, adding up to a fuel mileage of 100 miles per gallon.
"The stored power in the battery does a great job of displacing petroleum," said Tony Markel, a senior engineer at NREL who has been working on the 2006 model Prius for the past two years. "For most people, their daily commute is about 30 miles, so this car would run virtually on battery and only need to be recharged at night."
Displacing petroleum is a desirable virtue today, as the nation battles global warming and skyrocketing fuel prices.
On Monday, Colorado's average price for regular, unleaded gasoline hit a record high at $3.943 a gallon, nearly 70 cents higher than the $3.258 a year earlier.
But the spruced-up Prius doesn't come cheap.
The lithium-ion battery, which can be recharged using a standard electrical outlet at home or even at the workplace, has a price tag of $40,000. And the solar panel on the roof cost $2,500.
All told, the car adds up to almost $70,000 - but as NREL says, it's only a unique research model at this point.
__________________ Questions are a burden
and answers a prison
for oneself.
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Absolutely laughable if people think this car is any kind of answer, 40,000 dollar battery cells makes this car not even close to practical and not to mention it is based on one ugly platform. Why not just buy a regular prius and save the extra 40+ grand to use on fuel cost, lets see even at today's prices 40 grand would buy you gas for about the next 15-20 years.
We should be concentrating on real alternative fuel choices like hydrogen or methane gas. Electrical always has been and always will be to expensive and not reliable and advanced enough to be a real contender to make a shift from fossil fuel.
Absolutely laughable if people think this car is any kind of answer, 40,000 dollar battery cells makes this car not even close to practical and not to mention it is based on one ugly platform. Why not just buy a regular prius and save the extra 40+ grand to use on fuel cost, lets see even at today's prices 40 grand would buy you gas for about the next 15-20 years.
We should be concentrating on real alternative fuel choices like hydrogen or methane gas. Electrical always has been and always will be to expensive and not reliable and advanced enough to be a real contender to make a shift from fossil fuel.
I'm not sure that's the point. The car isn't an end product, it's the research involved.
__________________ Questions are a burden
and answers a prison
for oneself.
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Not to far into the future you will be able to close your eyes in Boston then ten seconds later when you open your eyes you will be in Aspen Colorado.
The things that ride around on UFO's have already learned how to do it.
Museum 3050:
"Mommy"
"yes dear"
"whats that thing"
"they used to call them cars dear, people used to get drunk and run them into trees and kill themselves in them"
"oh"
__________________
Harry Boy (Genius)
In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself
Not to far into the future you will be able to close your eyes in Boston then ten seconds later when you open your eyes you will be in Aspen Colorado.
The things that ride around on UFO's have already learned how to do it.
Museum 3050:
"Mommy"
"yes dear"
"whats that thing"
"they used to call them cars dear, people used to get drunk and run them into trees and kill themselves in them"
"oh"
One of the shows I watched recently on developing alt. energy mentioned that one of the biggest obstacles to developing a more efficient transportation system was, oddly enough, the wheel.
People need to re-think basic travel. We could develop a system where the cars are essentially like those magnetic bullet trains, putting the strips down the middle where roads are now, and then you'd be able to sort of hover along, and be guided with minimal input. Be kind of neat...climb aboard in Boston, sit there in your own quite space doing whatever, 15 minutes later you're in NYC...
__________________ Questions are a burden
and answers a prison
for oneself.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Tesla Motors is already producing an electric roadster that goes 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and has a 200+ mile range between charges. I'm sure the price tag is hefty, but the technical know-how has emerged and hopefully will be reflected in price tags of the mass produced cars of the future.
As far as the bullet train is concerned, it's something we in the US is sorely lacking. Anyone who's been on one of these or who's even been on the Eurorail I think will attest that it's the best, most comfortable way to travel. And the thing that makes some of the bullet trains so impressive is that they rely of massive magnetic force for propulsion and stabilization. It's big science and I'm not sure why we got left behind given that big science is what Americans do best.
100 mpg car
Linear Mode
