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The Automotive X-Prize is one of the unique events on this planet that brings together car manufacturers and amateurs to develop a super efficient vehicle that will not be hazardous to the environment.
Today, while most cars rely on gasoline as fuel, some manufacturers have begun to produce flexible fuel hybrid cars that run on bio-diesel or gasoline, and of course we also have the electric hybrids.
Many manufacturers are growing their line of hybrids each year. Automotive X-Prize event is looking for more. Their primary objective is not to provide us with just another concept car but a car that people can buy and use.
In a multi-million Dollar event, where winners will get to share the fat purse.
This event can't be called anything short of being a storm front where teams from different parts of the world comprising of amateurs, students, manufacturers and even start-up companies will participate with their concept cars to win the Automotive X PRIZE.
The idea behind this competition is innovation and discovery, which are the two main components that inspires and drives people to test their limits and the limits of the machines they make. The challenge is to create production-capable vehicles, which are viable, super-efficient and can meet the different needs of car buyers.
There are many reasons why we need something like the Automotive X-Prize competition. Some of the reasons are:
Oil consumption:
The cars of today have a high rate of oil consumption. This is endangering health and the climate. It is also affecting the political, economic, and social stability as the automotive industry uses 40% of the world’s oil output. With oil being one of the natural resources, the fear is that its depletion may produce catastrophic results.
Emissions:
Due to the use of oil as a source for fueling cars, we see a relative increase in global warming caused by burning of this fuel and if it is not stopped now then it will lead to severe climatic changes globally.
Choices:
There are no mainstream choices available in the form of efficient and clean vehicles that can also meet the various requirements of the market in terms of size, price, capability, safety, image, and performance.
Efficiency:
One of the primary aspects is that the cars of today focus more on increased vehicle power vis-à-vis increased fuel-economy.
There have been events earlier also where advanced concept cars were showcased. The drawback was that although the cars showed tremendous fuel economy but they were not practical solutions that customers could access.
This is what the Automotive X Prize competition is focusing on: it is more about tangible results and development of fuel efficient cars that people can actually buy.
There are two separate categories in the contest and the maximum amount of prize is given to passenger vehicles that are in a production ready phase. There is an alternate category for those machines, which are not in a production ready phase but are creative and fuel efficient.
There are certain concept cars that will be allowed to participate like the Hybrid Chevrolet Volt can complete in some of the stages of the competition while using power from batteries.
One of the cars expected to enter the competition is the GM Precept concept car. It can achieve an aerodynamic drag of 0.163, which is the lowest for any 5-passenger, 4-door sedan. The Ford Prodigy will also be there. It runs on compressed natural gas and uses different types of aerodynamic devices to drive it at highway speeds.
The VW EcoRacer concept car will be the one to watch out for because it combines both efficiency and performance with ease using a 134hp, 1.5L 4-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. These are some of the concept cars participating in the competition and there will be many more. So get there and gear up for a drive into the future!