Sunday, June 24, 2007

Cornell University Team's Plans for the 100 MPG Automotive X PRIZE

InventorSpot has a recent post on the Automotive X PRIZE challenge, noting that making a 100 MPG vehicle is one thing, and not too difficult already, but making a 100 MPG to meet the requirements of the Automotive X PRIZE - requirements such as meeting standard vehicle safety regulations, doing well in a race, and providing the types of features that are expected in the consumer car market - is quite another thing.

Meanwhile, the Cornell University Chronicle Online has an article about a team from the university that plans to compete for the challenge. The team already includes professor and graduate student talent from the Sibley School or Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, as well as the business school. It also has already received sponsorship from Popular Mechanics, which plans to cover the team, as well as the Engineering school, GE, First Manhattan, and the Roy H. Park Foundation. This is a great example of how prizes can be managed by the prize sponsor as well as the competitors to get more results than one might expect just from the dollar amount of the prize.

AutoBlogGreen also has an article on the TechKnow forum on Alternative Fuel Cars. This meeting included Mark Goodstein from the Automotive X PRIZE. It also included a representative from Tesla Motors, Elon Musk's other company besides SpaceX.