Automotive X Prize Team Websites: Sept 2008 Roundup

My last comprehensive survey was conducted on July 14th, 2008. This is far too long ago! Based on the information on the website, I lump teams into four categories:

1. Page Complete - I've already made a page. Sometimes I feel like I should remake it, due to new info...


2. Page Ready - there is enough information on the website for me to construct an X Prize Cars PDF page. This generally means a "story", some stats, and some usable images (renderings, drawings, photos, etc) are all available


3. Promising, just need more info first - some of the above, but missing something critical (most commonly good images, or good stats).


4. Not enough info - typically, lacking everything except "story", and sometimes lacking everything (i.e. no website at all). As I said above, this is a judgment on their website, not on the team or their vehicle - they could in fact have the winning vehicle, they are just staying quiet about it.

This list totals 102 teams. There are 25 Page complete, 15 Page ready, 8 Promising, and 54 Not enough info teams. I know the AXP people claim over 120 teams, but there are only 102 on their LOI Contenders page as of Oct 2nd, so that's all I can look at.

Airship Technologies Group. Page Ready. The website remains much as it was on the last survey, with the exception of some new stuff about the TRIZCON2008 Problem Solving Event.

Alternative Fuel Sciences. Not enough info. They are a new team since last time, no website, their AXP blurb promises a 130+ octane "zero emission" fuel, which sounds rather contradictory.

Aptera Motors. Page complete. Their website hasn't changed since the last survey - it remains awesome. I may have to remake my page once they release details on their most recent design change.

Alpha-core/Poulsen Hybrid. Page complete. Their website remains great, plus they've added nice news to the front page, and a form where you can sign up to be an early customer.

ARKAS Automotive. Not enough info. Their website is in turkish, and doesn't seem to mention anything about the Automotive X Prize - it's just a dealership website.

Atlas Motor Works, previously known as Team Psycho-Active. Not enough info. Listen to my interview with John Robitaille. They have better layout than previously (especially for Ideas page), but no new content as far as I can tell.

Automotive Development Engineering Productive Technologies (ADEPT). Page ready! They are new since last time, but they've had their vehicle (non-electric version) since 2005!

Avion Car Company Page Complete. Website has not changed since the last survey.

BDCOTSRUS. Not enough info. Their website has not changed since the last survey, and contains only the index, about, and sponsor pages.

Belloso Motor Company. Not enough info. Listen to my interview with Greg Belloso. No website - same as before.

Bios Fuel. Not enough info. Their website is fancy, but makes no mention of the AXP. They clearly hope to apply some of their technology to a vehicle, but it remains very vague. No change since last survey.

BITW. Promising, just need some good stats. Last survey, they didn't have a website - good work!

Brilliant Electric Vehicles LLC. Promising, just need some images. Their website was new last survey, but nothing seems to have changed since then.

C&N Performance. Not enough info. This is a new team since the last survey, and they don't have a website site yet.

CKE Technologies Inc. Page ready! They are a new team since the last survey, but they've got some good info up on their website already. Page might be a little stat poor.

Commuter Cars Corp. Page complete. They have an excellent website with tons of information. But there is no change since the last survey.

Cornell University. Page complete. Their front page has some recent news, and they are underway for the fall term.

D'ÅNTHEUS MOTORS. Not enough info. Still no website. Their claims of a motor which produces "electrical output levels that can be sustained for long durations, without the need for recharging" is almost incoherent and probably breaks some laws of physics. But if they can make it work, more power to 'em at the race.

Delta Motorsport. Page ready! Good website, with a nice image and some stats on the vehicle. No change since last survey.

Desert Fuel. Promising, just need some stats. They've added significant new information to the website since last survey, including details on Prototype 2 and the clay model for Prototype 3.

Dragon Fly Technology LTD. Not enough info. Website remains just a landing page with contact info - same as last survey.

Eastern Technologies Romania. Not enough info. No website, just like the last survey.

Electric Revolt. Not enough info. They are a new team since last survey, and their website looks good, but has several blank pages, and some 404s, etc.

Electric Trucks. Not enough info. No change since last survey - still no website. I'm not sure how they are going to compete - large trucks are unlikely to make 100 MPGe.

Eltra Technology. Page ready, if a little stat poor. Website has no changes since last survey.

EnerMotion. Not enough info. Their website has come a long way since the last survey: it was "under construction", now it has lots of pages, although some of the important ones on the vehicle design are still blank.

Envera LLC. Not enough info. The website is nice, but has almost no info on vehicles, focussing on their engine. I don't think there are any changes since last survey.

Esterer Engineering. Not enough info. Still clearly in the very early stages, no change since last survey.

FuelVapor Technologies BC. Page complete. They have a new Pics/Video section, very cool.

Global E. Not enough info. The website has not changed since the last survey - and while there is a picture of a vehicle, the text makes it seem like that isn't their vehicle.

Gomecsys Team. Promising, but need more stats. The website focusses almost entirely on their variable compression ratio engine - they plan to retrofit a Mercedes. I don't think the website has been updated since last time, but I didn't study the engine details in depth so there could be new stuff there...

Goodwin-Young "Linc-Volt". Page complete. They just posted "The State of Linc Volt" videos, and the live webcam is new as well - wicked!!!

gPod. Not enough info. Mike had no website last time either. But modifying a Lupo 3L is a great strategy - especially for a small team.

Green Energy Conversions. Not enough info. This is a new team since last time - and for now their website is just a place holder page.

GroupXcaliber. Not enough info. The vehicle picture on the index page is new, but otherwise the website remains much the same.

Gunn Team. Not enough info. No website last survey either.

Herf Duo. Not enough info. You can listen to my interview with Herf Duo. The website hasn't changed since last survey.

HP2g. Page ready! Some new videos on the website, as well as clippings from the press they have gotten recently.

Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies Inc. Page complete. I actually think they are a new team since the last survey, but my notes are not clear on this - they sure got a pile of attention over the last few months.

Hybrid Technologies. Page ready! Multiple pages, even. This is another team that may be new to the AXP this survey.

HyKinesys. Not enough info. Last time the AXP blurb talked about flywheels, and had no link. This time, there is a link, but the website is coming soon, and they have a "uniquely designed surge power unit."

Hyper Automotive. Not enough info. Like last time, website parked free.

Illuminati Motor Works. Promising, they will have a vehicle soon! They've got new photos up, have been featured in a Dutch documentary, and new donors are listed. Plus, they've started a Facebook group!

Industrial Designers GMBH. Not enough info. The website is in German, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything on their AXP entry. No change since last survey.

Istanbul Teknolojik Ar-Ge Merkezi Ltd. Not enough info. They've pasted in a few "future technologies" section, and given a link to their "new floating technology" website, but otherwise the website seems unchanged.

Jordan Engineering. Not enough info. No website, same as last survey.

Kepler Motors. Not enough info. A new team since the last survey, the website is currently parked free.

Kinetic Vehicles. Page ready. They've added all sorts of great in-depth content. They will be at Escape From Berkeley next week.

Kinetix Motors. Not enough info. They had a "coming soon" website last time, but now that link has been removed.

Kuttner Doran. Not enough info. The blurb used to link to fordGTTV, but not anymore.

laeN'O. Not enough info. The website looks the same as last time.

Loremo AG. Page complete. The website remains *excellent*.

Lydell Industries LLC. Promising, but scattered. I don't think the website has changed significantly since the last survey.

Mann Research & Development. Not enough info. The website has a scanned textbook on Electrolytic Fuels, and hasn't changed since the last survey.

MDI / Zero Pollution Motors. Page complete. The website seems about the same - lots of good info.

Michigan Vision. Not enough info. The blog remains blank.

Millmac. Not enough info. The website is for their marine business - just like last time, no info on their AXP entry.

Miastrada Company. Page complete. The website boast some new images and stats - the very ones which made my recent page possible.

Miles Electric Vehicles. Page complete. Their website remains super slick, and their "Press Room" links to recent news.

Motive Industries. Page complete. The website is very nice.

MotoTron Corporation. Not enough info. Their website still contains nothing on the AXP.

Myers Motors. Page ready - sort of. Their NmG seats only 1 person, and therefore doesn't qualify, which is why I haven't made a page for it. But you can learn all about it on their excellent website.

Nelson / TYWA Power Corp. Not enough info. They didn't have a website last survey either.

New Leaf. Promising, just need some stats. They are a new team since the last survey, but they've already got a pretty good website up. The blog show a green VW Beetle that they plan to retrofit.

NgEK. Not enough info. The website is about their engineering consulting business, doesn't mention AXP at all. No change since last survey.

Northwest Energy Research Association. Not enough info. They didn't have a website last survey either.

Opera Zero. Not enough info. Last time, the website was all in Italian, and didn't seem to have anything on the AXP. This time, they've got a very pretty website with a few details on the AXP and their entry. Apparently you'll be able to dissemble it and store it in other vehicles!

Perfect Motor Corp. Not enough info. Their website includes some awesome videos of a wankle-like rotary engine (except that the rotating part is on the outside!). They are a new team since the last survey.

Phoenix Motor Cars. Page complete. The website remains excellent.

Porteon Electric Vehicles, Inc. Not enough info. Their website has been arriving soon for at least a year now.

Prometheus Systems. Not enough info. The website is for Navakinetics LLC, which is also owned by the founder, but doesn't include any info on the AXP team/car. No change since last survey.

Physics Lab of Lake Havasu. Page complete. Listen to my interview with Jim Stansbury. Their website gets new content all the time - most recently, they have added an interactive demo of their Regen EV Shocks, very cool.

RaceAbout Association. Page complete. They have recently launched a business plan competition, where students are invited to write a business plan for their Electric RaceAbout, to fulfill the AXP requirements. Strangely, no prize is mentioned.

Rare Earth Labs (RELEC). Not enough info. New since the last survey.

Red Light Racing (RLR). Not enough info. No updates since Jan'08.

Revolución Motors. Not enough info. Website remains empty.

Revolution Motors. Page ready, if a little stat poor. The website has lots of info, but much is not directly related to the vehicle. I'm not sure how much is new since the last survey - but they were at the same page readiness stage then.

Roane Inventions. Page complete. As far as I can tell there have been no changes to the website since the last survey.

S.C.E.V. Promising, just need some images! There are more details, and they are still hiring.

Society for Sustainable Mobility. Page complete. They've fixed the bugs on their website, and added some new images, a newsletter, and a forum (unfortunately spam filled).

Spirit One. Not enough info. The website hasn't changed since the last survey.

The Little Engine That Can. Not enough info. This is a new team since last time, their website talks about their engine but has no details on their vehicle.

The Standard Joule Company. Not enough info. No website, same as last survey.

T3 Motion. Not enough info. In fact, there is enough info on their T3 3-wheeler, but since it's single person and not enclosed, I don't think it qualifies for the AXP. What do they plan to do for the AXP?

Tata Motors. Not enough info. There are rumors that they will race an EV version of the Nano, but there has been no official information from Tata. No change since the last survey.

Team Fire Fly. Not enough info. This is a new team since the last survey. Their "mospeed" website doesn't reference the AXP at all.

Team Twike IV. Page ready, but the vehicle is low-speed. They have not released any info on the higher-speed version they say they are building for the AXP. Website hasn't changed since last survey.

Team ULV-3. Not enough info. They are a new team since the last survey, and their website doesn't resolve right now. In fact, whois shows that the domain ulv3.com isn't even owned. They should fix that ASAP, before someone fixes it for them.

Tesla Motors. Page complete. The website has recently updated "What's New?" and "Our Press" sections. In addition, they have an active blog.

Tilting Vehicle Australia [TvA]. Page complete. They have a new video up. Otherwise the website remains as strident and colorful as last time.

Turner Motors. Not enough info. They are a new team since last time, and their website is clearly under construction. And they need use a spell checker...

TTW Vehicles. Page ready, if a little lacking in stats. Since last time they have added some photos & videos of the prototype vehicle, and some more info - but the dates on these new things claim a year ago, so I wonder what it looks like now?

USA Electric Cars. Not enough info. The website hasn't changed since last survey.

Utopia. Not enough info. This is a new team since the last survey.

Valentin Technologies. Page complete. Listen to my interview with Ingo Valentin. The website hasn't changed since last survey - still great.

Velozzi. Page complete. The website is great. I don't remember the Sponsorship page, but it could have been there last time... anyway, it's cool so see at the events they plan to participate in.

Vepreformance. Page ready. They've put up a bunch of stats and a photo. No word however on the most important one - MPGe.

Venture Vehicles. Page complete. They have an awesome website, including a very active forum. But there haven't been any updates from the team since June, and fans are a little angry about that.

West Phily Hybrid X Team. Not enough info. They have several finished vehicles from prior efforts, but have yet to release ANY information about their AXP entry. Their website includes a nice Press section.

Western Washington University. Not enough info. The website mostly archives old efforts - there is nothing recent there, and likely won't be until the car is done and the race is over.

X Tracer. Page ready - if the MonoTracer actually qualifies for the AXP. If not it looks like they probably won't compete anyway.

XLR8SUN. Page ready! I don't remember the videos being present last survey. As far as I know, they are the only team intending to use significant numbers of solar panels.

ZAP. Page complete. ZAP has been in the news recently for starting factories in Kentucky and Uruguay, and they've lowered the reservation price of the Alias to only $99 (although one reference to the old $1000 price still exists on the page). The website remains mostly unchanged.