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• First to totalmonkey, I think you need to reread that last sentence there is an "including" there that you missed.
  
  About the car, it sounds like a great idea, but honestly my concern is price point and actual usability. Look at the other entrants for the X Prize they are cars that yes can get you from point A to B but are so light and small that they have less room than a Smart car. I have seen in persona many of the entries for the contest and so far have seen none that would make a good reliable usable method of transportation.
  
  The reason most of these vehicles are getting great gas mileage is due to their weight and lack of structure. Good examples include the K1 Attack that was created as a hybrid, and the entry using an Ariel Atom chassis. I would not think it too hard to get great gas mileage when you are converting a car that already can get 30 mpg on a supercharged 4cyl gas motor over to a electric/gas hybrid.
  
  Now lets look at cost, the Tesla Roadster which has gotten a great deal of fame is great for gas but the trade off is now you are spending $110K for the car. My annual gas cost on my 700rwhp turbocharged mustang is less than $4,000 a year so with a car that I have $40K into it would take me over 17 years to break even. Where is the trade off. A Toyota Prius has a better return on value.
  
  I would love to see a production car come out of the X Prize but the rules for the contest do not focus on that and thus it will not happen. What I would pay more attention to is the auto manufacturers who are doing their own testing. Examples include the BMW Hydrogen 7Series, the Nissan Cube, the Audi's with their Bio Diesel and lets look at the fact that many race cars are running on E85 Ethanol.
  
  In the end we will have to wait and see but at some point the manufacturers are going to need to pick a direction, just at the moment no one can decide which is the better option to adopt. In reply to: "Hybrid-electric carmaker readies 220 mpg 'super car'"

  May 30, 2008

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