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1. Wide Variety of Vehicles Makes Up the X-Prize Field
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2. Government Mandates New Labels for Light Bulbs
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3. Efficient X Prize Cars Racing in Knockout Stage
Wide Variety of Vehicles Makes Up the X-Prize Field
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The variety of vehicles in competition for the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize is amazing. There are 21 teams still in competition, spread across three categories. But rather than converging on one particular general design style, as the solar car competitions have tended to do, the X Prize competitors vary hugely. Some, including the amp'd Sky and American HyPower Prius, are essentially just modified conventional vehicles. Others are completely custom built. A number of the Alternative division vehicles are more unusual looking, including three wheeled vehicles fielded by Future Vehicle Technologies and Zap Electric. Alternative tandem class vehicles also include the enclosed motorcycle by Monotracer and the extremely narrow (39" wide) Commuter Cars' Tango.
Most teams have only a single vehicle in the competition, but one team, Edison2, has vehicles entered in all three classifications. And while most of the teams still in competition are comprised of teams of professional engineers, there is also the West Philly Hybrid X Team which includes students from an after school program of the Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering based in West Philadelphia High School, a public high school serving one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city of Philadelphia.
The testing was delayed for a couple hours as a thunderstorm swept across southest Michigan, but vehicles were on the track later in the afternoon. Groups of six vehicles at a time were on the track while EcoGeek was there, and we have pictures of many of the different vehicles after the cut.
Government Mandates New Labels for Light Bulbs
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The US Federal Trade Commission has announced a final ruling on new labels for light bulbs. The labels will break down the "lighting facts" of bulbs much like a nutrition label on food products. With CFLs, LEDs and other lighting technologies filling the shelves alongside incandescents, the labels will help consumers find what they're looking for.
The major change that these labels bring is using lumens to indicate the brightness of the bulb instead of watts, that way all bulbs will use the same terminology and consumers can compare them easily. Other statistics listed on the labels will be: yearly energy cost, the bulb's life expectancy, light appearance (on a scale of warm to cool), energy used (wattage) and, for CFLs, a warning that it contains mercury.
The clear labeling of cost and energy savings over time, could help more efficient lighting win over consumers who haven't made the switch yet.
The new labels should start showing up in the middle of next year.
via TreeHugger
Efficient X Prize Cars Racing in Knockout Stage
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A number of unusual vehicles are on the track at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn MI this week. The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize competition is now in the knockout stages, and the competitors have come to MIS to participate in a series of trials.
Wednesday and Thursday are media days as the testing was taking place on the 2-mile track. Testing includes City, Urban, and Highway segments. Rather than being a simple endurance race, there are speed limits and a number of starts and stops, in order to better simulate real-world driving conditions. At this point, competitors have to achieve at least 67 MPG equivalent and CO2 emissions of not more than 300g/mile or be knocked out of the competition.
The goal of the automotive X Prize is to promote the development of a new generation of viable, safe, affordable and super fuel efficient vehicles that people want to buy. The X Prize consists of Mainstream and Alternative class, with the Alternative further subdivided into side-by-side and tandem seating divisions. While performance is an important part of the competition, factors including manufacturability, marketability, safety, and durability are also part of the final evaluation. The Mainstream winner will receive $5 million of the total $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize purse, and $2.5 million apiece will also be awarded to the winner of each of the Alternative divisions.
There is also an opportunity to win $3000 in the fan voting. We'll have more coverage from this stage of the X Prize here on EcoGeek. The final winners are scheduled to be announced in September.
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