[donrhummy]

Granted it was for a small vehicle but it DID have an actual driver. Wonder if there's any usable technology here.

http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9918198-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

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[rsd212]

As far as I understand it, there's not much in terms of technology. Its just a good balance of power to weight ratio, and good aerodynamic design, plus running the car at a speed which is optimal for that engine. Problem being, a superlight car will not provide and safety, will not give the speed range necessary for every day driving, and overall is just not practical.

[Tightwad]

When you stuff a "brick" through the air your mileage is gonna be terrible.
That "brick" is the basic shape ,and weight, of every car/truck on the road.

[toyota200x]

I competed in a Shell Eco-marathon when I was a senior in high school. Was an amazing experience.Our car was simlilar in shape and made out of carbon fibre. We had close to 1500mpg.

[donrhummy]

I competed in a Shell Eco-marathon when I was a senior in high school. Was an amazing experience.Our car was simlilar in shape and made out of carbon fibre. We had close to 1500mpg.

What speed did your vehicle travel at?

[bragi]

Why were solar vehicles "disqualified"?

[cerewa]

Why were solar vehicles "disqualified"?

I don't think they were.

The competition apparently assigned MPG numbers to the solar vehicles. I'm speculating that those MPG numbers were based on the amount of fossil fuels used to manufacture solar panels and the percentage of the panels' useful life that passes during the race.

The Pulsar vehicle from Purdue University was the top solar finisher; it got credited with a fuel economy rating of 2,861.8 mpg.


Problem being, a superlight car will not provide and safety, will not give the speed range necessary for every day driving, and overall is just not practical.

Are you saying that a bicycle is also too slow and unsafe to be practical?

Super-light, super-fuel-economy cars and bicycles have a lot in common in terms of speed, safety, and the types of usage they lend themselves to. Electric bikes are also a close relative, as far as I'm concerned.

[xafofo]

i think most people would rather ride a bike than drive one of those things. like someone said above, no safety, no cargo... it's just not very practical

it's a nice exercise in engineering.. but i'm not sure what you can take from this to apply to cars in the near future