The average American car today get about 20 stat mi per gallon ( mpg ) ofgasoline . Eighty year ago , Henry Ford ’s Model T got 25 to 30 mpg and that cable car could run on gasorethanol . What come about ? In the decade since the Model T , railroad car engineering science , f number , safety machine and comfort have improved tremendously . But in term of fuel economy , we ’re still decades behind . With business organization aboutgas prices , spherical warmingand air pollution , fuel efficiencyhas already become a spot of concern for car buyer . rent ’s search the question that a lot of people are asking : Can a car get 100 Roman mile on a individual gallon of gas ?

We ’re not the only ones asking the interrogative . Google – yes , the search locomotive engine Google – is try on to determine out .

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On June 20 , 2007 , Google announced that its founders’philanthropicorganization , Google.org , is change gas - electrichybrid vehicleslike the Toyota Prius to adjudicate to breach the 100 mpg threshold . The project , calledRecharge IT , is collaborate with other companies and researchers , including Pacific Gas & Electric . They ’ve handed out $ 1 million in grants to think cooler , pedagog , advocacy groups and researchers to set ahead the hybrid cause . Another $ 10 million is available to researchers who offer desirable proposal .

RechargeIT features a standard Prius that ’s been modified to connect to a 120 - volt electric mercantile establishment . Two of these vehicles are being test against two standard Prius hybrids . Together the two fire hydrant - inPrius hybridsare averaging 73.6 mpg , while the received Prius loanblend are ticking along at 40.9 mpg [ reservoir : Google ] . The plug - in hybrid have also prove a substantial decrease in CO2emissions .

A second , intriguing part of the Google project is that they ’re work onvehicle - to - grid ( V2G)technology , which rent cars " deal " back superfluous stored - up electricity to the local utility ’s electric grid . The vision behind this technology is pick up ways to harvest energy that ’s produced when driving a railway car –engineheat , rubbing from breaks , solar energy– and feed that vim back into the machine and the galvanizing grid . The end result is a more fuel - efficient machine that can also take down your home ’s energy bill .

Google ’s hybrid , which requires more sophisticatedbatteriesthan those used by conventional hybrids , is not the only one of its type . Conversion companies be that , for several thousand dollar mark , will ferment your Prius or Ford Escape Hybrid into a chew - in crossbreed . Others sell do - it - yourself outfit over the cyberspace , though a significant amount of automotive expertness is recommended . This is not a recent phenomenon . For decades people have been produce their own electric car , solar - powered and hybrid cars and modify existing auto to go 100 miles per congius or more ( recently the Honda Insight has proved a popular choice ) .

So Google ’s taste to reach the 100 - mpg doorway and many other organizations and amateurs are as well , but is 100 mpg feasible without an expensive conversion kit ? countenance ’s find out .

The Automotive X Prize

Creating a 100 mpg car is in reality quite easy . applied scientist have designed fomite that were subject of several times that amount . The problem is that those vehicles could barely modify as " cars , " much less a vehicle that can take a family unit of four to the movies . Many of these vehicles also practice very expensive materials . That ’s the real challenge : creating a consumer - favorable car that ’s attractive , reasonably pricedandcapable of going 100 miles on a gallon of gas .

To that final stage , the X Prize Foundation of late announced the Automotive X Prize . You may call back the AnsariX Prize , won by theSpaceShipOneteam . The Automotive X Prize is a competition to build a " production - ready " four - passenger gondola that could be profitable to produce on a wide scale [ Source : Edmunds ] . The car has to be able of 100 mpg and has to win a serial of races . The prize is expect to be up to $ 25 million , though some participant , especially those back by corporations or salient entrepreneurs may drop even more than that on their competition entry . The Automotive X Prize allows participants to use several different type of fuel , so some squad might be using innate petrol , ethanol , dieselor electrical energy .

Given the designs that are already out there and Google.org ’s success with its Priusplug - in hybrids , multiple teams could feasibly burst the 100 mpg limen . To do it , they ’ll have to improvefuel efficiency , which means cutting weight . Strong , lightweight materials such as aluminium , C fiber and atomic number 12 can lighten the car ’s body , electronics and wheels . ( Some of these materials , like carbon copy fibre , can be expensive , so the squad has to remember that this gondola must be profitable to produce and market place . ) Glass actually summate a lot of weight to a car . Types of lightweight glass and composite are being develop , some of which might make their elbow room into Automotive X Prize machine .

Resistance is another fundamental feature of speech for fuel efficiency . flowing design and low - resistancetirescan step-down pull , though those tire can decrease handling . at last , improved insulating material would reduce the need for heating and cool systems , which would cut down on free weight and save gas , though the Automotive X Prize requires entrants to have some kind ofair - conditioningsystem as well as a stereo .

The Automotive X Prize will release its final rules this summer , designs will be reviewed next year and the last tidy sum of backwash will belike be in mid-2009 . While you ’re hold off for your 100 mpg car , keep your oculus on the efforts of Google , the EPA’shydraulic hybrid , theTesla Roadsterand the many researchers , entrepreneur and amateurs who are look to create the next generation of radical - eminent - mileage cars . It seems Detroit has caught up as well : Google account that no less than seven automaker are researching male plug - in hybrids .

For more information about fuel efficiency , hybrid cars and related matter , discipline out the links on the next page .

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