March 2008 Archives

Lots of news this week: we've got a major story about CARB slashing EV mandates in California, a great collection of AXP vehicle photos by CNet, and news from Zap, Tesla, Aptera, Visionary Vehicles, Gaia Transport and Maine Automotive. Also, some information on Project Better Place, the Th!nk City, Triciclo Pompéo, and the Great Race MPG Challenge. (image courtesy of KF6OAK's Flickr Photostream, from the protest out front of the CARB headquarters).

The 5th episode of the X Prize Cars podcast is live! download MP3, or listen here:

In this episode I interview Ulrik Poulsen and Sandu Pescaru of Alpha Core / Poulsen Hybrid. We talk about their technology for retrofitting vehicles with external electric motors and batteries in the trunk. They aim to retrofit a mainstream class vehicle and race it for the Automotive X Prize. Because their technology can be retrofitted unto any vehicle, they feel they have incredible flexibility, and that this will enable them to tailor their vehicle to the rules, upping their chance of winning :-).

Episode 4 of the X Prize Cars Podcast is here! (MP3)

Updated: Check out my new MP3 playing widget!

On March 21st 2008, at the New York Auto Show, I interviewed Don Foley, Executive Director of the Progressive Automotive X Prize. We talked about a wide variety of subjects, including:

- How is the Automotive X Prize going in general
- Thoughts on partnership with Progressive Insurance
- Development of the rules
- Favorite teams? - likes the high school team, touts the underdogs
- Alternative class thoughts
- Major car makers joining
- haven't joined yet, but haven't said they wouldn't and haven't said it is impossible
- Talks about Bloomberg and New York City hosting the first stage (you can see the new Press Release he was talking about here)
- Question about Vancouver BC, Canada as an international stage. Mentions many other possible cities which have expressed interest
- How many stages are their going to be? 10, 5 in qualifiers and 5 in final. Indianapolis Speedway as a possible stage
- Super long stage (1000 miles) question. 50-200 mile stages. Media viability concern

At the New York Auto Show, I interviewed Guy Negre and Shiva Vencat. Episode 3 of the X Prize Cars Podcast (MP3) is out and features this dynamic duo talking about their vehicle at the New York Auto Show. Guy Negre runs MDI, and Shiva Vencat is behind Zero Pollution Motors. They intend to enter a compressed air vehicle in both the mainstream and the alternative class - two different vehicles. My old page MDI & ZPM CityCAT features the 6-seat mainstream class, while this page is about the new 3-seat alternative class Compressed Air Vehicle (PDF). Read on for the same information presented via HTML.

Wired has published a scathing and detailed critique of ZAP Electric Cars, a competitor for the Automotive X Prize. I've got pages up for both their ZAP X Crossover EV and the ZAP Alias.

According to the article, ZAP has a long track record of issuing press releases about new cars, but not following up by actually delivering them. Further more, they use these press releases and peoples' dreams for "green cars" to trick people into purchasing stock and dealership franchises (which end up worthless, of course). The company has never made money, but because of this continued investment, it has managed to continue existing since its founding in 1992, and it's management has become wealthy by selling stock on the rare occasions when it's worth more than pennies.

Personally I'd never give them money, but I am more than willing to keep my pages up and see if they actually manage to compete with their vehicles come 2009 and 2010. The larger question, which Wired raises, is about the damage this company has done to the EV movement world wide. So many passionate people have gotten burned by ZAP, and even more have fixed their hopes on ZAP only to have them dashed. Would we have had real freeway-capable EVs in large numbers if ZAP had been a better company? It's impossible to know, but certainly they have not been a force for good in the EV world.

The big news this week was of course the announcement of the $10M prize, backed by Progressive Insurance. There are still more stories trickling in about that, but I've focussed here on posts with new content. We've got many interviews with PAXP teams by Autoblog Green: MDI, Motive Industries, Venture Vehicles, Maine Automotive, and Fuel Vapor Technologies. There is also a story on the Milner ElectriCar and some pointers to news about Illuminati Motor Works. Finally, a video of Jay Leno test driving the Tesla!

The X Prize Foundation has posted up complete video (in three parts) of the AXP launch event, hosted at YouTube, of course.

As you might expect, the launch of the $10m Progressive Automotive X Prize has been widely reported in the media. Most articles just briefly explain the prize and mention Progressive as a the sponsor, but some go on to feature some of the teams as well. I can't hope to be comprehensive here, but I do want to give you a feel for how much news the press event generated, so check out this extensive list of media mentions:

Popular Mechanics, New York Times "Bits" blog, CNN Money, CNBC, The Register, MSNBC (video - Today Show), MSNBC (print), Popular Science, Reuters, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, US News, Detroit News, CNet News.com Wired, Treehugger, Autoblog Green, Jalopnik, Slashdot, The Car Connection, Ecogeek, Green Car Congress, Autoweek.

No doubt even more will come out given a few more days!

I spent the day interviewing every Automotive X Prize team who had a representative standing around. In total I got an interview with nine teams, plus interviews with two members of the staff of the AXP. Obviously with this backlog it's going to take me a long while to make podcasts of them all!

One piece of news that I found particularly exciting was something that John Shore, Senior Director at the AXP, told me. He said that they continue to seek more funding for the prize purse, i.e. they are not stopping at the current $10 million! He would like to have millions of dollars of extra money which would go to a variety of different things. First, increasing the main prize purse. Second, adding extra prizes for 2nd and 3rd place (as is common in other automotive races). Third, adding a special prize for the best team with a "manufacturers" designation, to draw extra attention to those teams whose cars are either in production already (as of the final race) or who will be in production shortly after the race. He said that since the announcement yesterday, when Progressive Insurance stepped up as the title sponsor, the AXP staff have been recontacted by some of the other potential sponsors they talked to, who are now eager to play as follow-on investors. More power to them!

Also, if you just can't wait for my podcasts, I recommend that you check out these two podcasts over at Auto Blog Green: West Philly Hybrid X Team, Progressive Insurance CEO on why he's spending $10M on AXP. I didn't manage to interview either of those people, so my thanks to Sebastian for his great work.

It's Episode 2 of the X Prize Cars podcast! (MP3) In this episode I summarize the news coming out of the announcement, and then present a complete audio recording of the event. Also, click over the jump to see a big collection of photos from the event.

The launch went off very well today - Peter Diamandis (pictured), founder of the X Prize Foundation, chaired the event, and speakers ranging from Michael Bloomberg (Mayor of New York) to Glenn Renwick, CEO of Progressive Insurance, to Alexander “Andy” Karsner, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy (via video).

My favorite line? From Glen Renwick, CEO of Progressive Insurance: "This competition is an investment in the future of the automobile, and therefore an investment in our future." They get it!

The big announcements: The DOE has given the AXP $3.5M for an "outreach campaign", a fund to educate the public about the prize and 100 MPGe vehicles. Mayor Bloomberg has committed New York City to be the host of the first stage of the race. The Auto Research Center has volunteered their services as the "Official Performance Simulation Provider", they will deliver software that the teams can use. And of course, Progressive Insurance has become the title sponsor and given the bulk of the $10M, with Ray Sidney of Big George Ventures providing the rest.

Four teams showed off their cars: MDI showed a mock-up of their AirCar, painted green, FuelVapor Technologies drove the Ale in, painted yellow, Venture Vehicles showed a mockup of the VentureOne, a tilting car, and finally a high school team West Philly Hybrid X Team drove in a heavily modified Attack kit car. In addition, reps from many other teams were present and chatted to the assembled media. Tomorrow many teams get an hour on stage, so I'm going to try to live to blog some of that.

I'll be putting up complete audio of the event in a podcast shortly, but in the meantime click over the jump to read the press release from the AXP team.

Finally we can stop saying "multi-million dollar prize", and start talking about real money - $10 million! Progressive Insurance has stepped up as the Title Sponsor of the renamed "Progressive Automotive X Prize."

From Progressive Fact Sheet, here is a quote from Glenn Renwick, Progressive’s President and CEO:

“We’ve been working hard to make a difference in car insurance for 70 years. Now we have a chance to make a difference by supporting the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. This will result in more choices of more fuel efficient vehicles for drivers and will be a catalyst for moving this technology forward faster.

This competition represents what we’re all about in name and spirit – new ideas, competition and always working to do better. Being a part of this gives us a chance to make a real difference.”

Yahoo has an AP article up already - the tidal wave of press has begun :-). Check out the new teams page - vastly improved, they now have pictures and a paragraph for each team.

More tomorrow as further details emerge - we are expecting some updates on the details of the staged race (e.g. criteria for cities who wish to apply), as well as possible clarification on some of the rules. And, many teams will be in attendance and may have announcements of their own!

A fair amount of news this week, including a lot of videos (Aptera, Jeep Renegade, Valentin Technologies Ingo, Loremo, Fisker Karma), Tesla battery recycling, Hybrid Technologies, several articles on the Automotive X Prize (one comparing it to America's Next Top Model!), and the Milner ElectiCar, a sort of airplane without wings which gets 340 MPGe.

The X Prize Foundation issued a press release today, stating that they will announce the "Title Sponsor" and prize amount on March 20 at 1 pm at the New York International Auto Show. They will also release all sorts of juicy details, including the final rules, information about the staged races, the entry process, and the process for becoming a host city.

I have already purchased tickets and arranged my press pass and I will be there. If you've got any questions you'd like me to ask of the X Prize Foundation folks or the title sponsor, please feel free to leave a comment.  Here is the entire press release:

Automotive X PRIZE to Announce Title Sponsor and Multimillion Dollar Prize Purse at 2008 New York International Auto Show

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - March 13, 2008) -

WHAT/WHY: The Automotive X PRIZE, an international, multimillion dollar competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles, will announce its much anticipated title sponsor and multimillion dollar prize purse at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). This announcement signals the official beginning of the Automotive X PRIZE competition.

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, March 20, 1 p.m. EDT The New York International Auto Show; Crystal Plaza at Jacob Javits Center

VISUALS: A select number of teams with their vehicles and representatives from the to-be-announced title sponsor will join the Automotive X PRIZE in the booth for photos and interviews.

THE GOAL: The independent and technology-neutral Automotive X PRIZE competition is open to teams from around the world that can design, build and bring to market 100 MPG or equivalent (MPGe) vehicles that people want to buy and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance.

RACE PARTICIPANTS: To date, more than 60 teams from nine countries have signed a Letter of Intent to compete for a share of the multimillion dollar prize purse and global publicity.

OTHER SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS: In addition to the major announcements of the Automotive X PRIZE title sponsor and multimillion dollar prize purse, X PRIZE officials will unveil new details on the entry process, rigorous cross-country stage races planned for 2009 and 2010, and the process for becoming an Automotive X PRIZE Host City.

FOR PRESS WHO CANNOT ATTEND: The Automotive X PRIZE will host an hour-long call for media to speak with X PRIZE Foundation CEO and Chairman Dr. Peter Diamandis and a title sponsor representative, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT on March 20. Call 646-428-0612 to RSVP.

ABOUT THE AUTOMOTIVE X PRIZE:

The Automotive X PRIZE is a project of the X PRIZE Foundation, which creates and manages prizes that drive innovators to solve the world's greatest challenges. The X PRIZE Foundation first captured world headlines in 2004, when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private vehicle to space twice in two weeks to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Automotive X PRIZE is being designed with the generous help of world-class experts, advisors and organizations who represent a broad and diverse group of interests and share the organization's concerns and goals. For more detail, see our advisors, supporters, and blog at http://auto.xprize.org.

The Automotive X Prize is about more than just a race. One of the primary goals of the X Prize Foundation is to spur the market for these vehicles - both on the supply side (having vehicles available for purchase) and the demand side (getting people interested in and ready to buy radically efficient vehicles). There are a number of "green" vehicles which are already taking orders, and I've done a little research to see how the public is responding to these early innovators. The vehicles I did research for are the Aptera Typ-1e and Typ-1h , the Fisker Karma, the Tesla Roadster, and the ZAP Alias. As far as I know, these are the only green cars (other than standard hybrids like the Prius and smaller vehicles like the Smart) that are presently taking orders.

There are many terms in use which describe green cars which are rather opaque, and I've decided that it would be a good idea to have a central place for people to find definitions for these terms. So without further ado I present the Green Car Lexicon!

There was a good story about the Automotive X Prize in Plenty Magazine this week, plus a couple of interesting blog posts from Tesla, some interesting examples of do-it-yourself E-REVs, and the usual assortment of interesting green car news.

My earliest vision for this site was to have a big table listing all of the various competitors for the Automotive X Prize along with their stats. Today I am pleased to announce that this vision has finally been realized! I bring you: The X Prize Cars. You can check out the stats on the 14 teams I have profiled here over the last 3 months, and follow the links under each name to learn more.

As more vehicles are added and others are updated, I promise to update that page - it will always be your one-stop source for vehicle stats. Enjoy!

About X Prize Cars
X Prize Cars is focussed on the Automotive X Prize competition: the teams, their cars (see The X Prize Cars on the right), and the technical and business challenges of building and racing super-efficient vehicles. XPrizeCars.com is meant to make it easy for people to learn about and compare the competitors for the Automotive X Prize. Got something that should be posted here? contact me!

About Eric Boyd
I'm a serial entrepreneur with an engineering background. I founded X Prize Cars because I am passionate about efficiency and wanted to do something to help the world move to a more sustainable technological infrastructure. When the Automotive X Prize was announced, I was curious about the various teams and their vehicles, but frustrated by how scattered the information about them was. X Prize Cars is my solution - and hopefully it can be yours as well.

About the Automotive X Prize (excerpt from their press releases)
The goal of the Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) is to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change. The multi-million dollar AXP purse will be awarded to the teams that win a staged race for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 miles per gallon equivalent fuel economy.

There have been many excellent stories about the Automotive X Prize in the news. X Prize Cars recommends these three:

Wired: 1 Gallon of Gas, 100 Miles — $10 Million: The Race to Build the Supergreen Car, the cover story from the January 2008 edition. Best press yet.

Edmunds: The X Prize and the 100 MPG Car, a good summary of the draft rules. You can read more about the rules here and at Joel Makower, who is on the board of advisors.

MSNBC: 'Green' Teams go for Auto Race, which has an excellent set of comments by ordinary people.

There wasn't much in the news this week on the Automotive X Prize, so I have filled this post in with interesting stuff that is tangentially related. We've got an update from Martin at the Tesla Founders Blog, a piece on Hydrogen, news about the 3rd generation Prius, movies of the Th!nk City, and some other interesting things.