Education
Students Create Vehicle That Gets 760 MPG
- Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:26am by
Scott Baker
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Via KIMT:
Driving more than 700 miles on single gallon fuel sounds pretty good with gas prices inching towards four dollars a gallon.
Some Southern Minnesota high school students created a vehicle that gets about 760.
The Alden-conger “Super Mileage” Team just returned from a trip to Texas.
They competed against colleges and universities from all over North America, and took home second place in the ethanol division.
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Comments (155)
awizard
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:37amFirst of all, “More power to the kids”. Great effort, keep on working on it, but … They are not working in the “Real World”. I have a bicycle that has gone a couple thousand miles and never used Any “Gas”( there is of course the grease (petro based), and my effort ( pounds of co 2 into the atmosphere peddling that thing) … then there’s the Solar cars that raced in Australia(I think Australia) a few years ago never used any “Gas” … Corn squeezing s?,(ethanol) my Great Grand Daddy told me “squeezing s good for dreamin’, and paying the mortgage, but you can’t “heat the house”, or “drive’ on em … I tried …
Would you really get in one of those vehicles and drive down the road?.. A deer hit would kill you ( or maybe an adult raccoon ) … Anyone wanna try haulin’ any Freight with one of those things?.. ‘How ’bout kids?.. ‘Groceries?.. ‘Pull a trailer?.. ‘Do ANYTHING useful?..
I don’t know where you people live but, in my life we don’t turn the key without a purpose and plan, and the kids wanna go anywhere, they have well maintained bicycles …
I just reread the article … ‘Not enough information, HOW?.. Ethanol?.. is a Dirty word around here … Does Anyone understand what it takes to make “one gallon” of “Good” corn alcohol? …; a hint go buy about Eight Gallons of “Good?” Whiskey …
I apologize for my lack of eloquence, punctuation, and possible spelling …
Report Post »dcart888
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:33amYou could NOT drive that in UT on freeways where they don’t know how to allow others to merge onto freeways . . . You’de be burnt toast
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:22amand if a little Volkswagen hit ya, you would be toast..
Report Post »janedough1
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:20amWell yeah, a sewing machine motor on a bicycle with a cowling is going to get pretty good gas mileage, but what can you do with it? You almost never need to move only your body from one place to another. Where are you going to put your groceries, your kids, your carpool, the sheet of plywood for your weekend projects, etc. What we need is something like the Karnes Dynorev.
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:41amExactly.. why does Obama just act like all we do is drive aimlessly around?? Long gone are the days of the SUNDAY drive.. Generally now you leave with an empty car and come home with it full of kids or grocery’s.. OH YA the PRESIDENT doesn’t have those problems.. he and his family gets driven around in a limo and the HELP does the shopping.. on the taxpayers dime.. most are more like the guy he told to trade his gas guzzling car in.. we have families, things we have to do and places we have to take the family to..
Report Post »In-God-I-trust
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:19amA friend of ours, grandfather, made an engine that got 120 MPG for a car, years ago. It was taken from him.
Report Post »M-Theory
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 3:40pmI’m sure his idea and other efficiency patents were stolen by the government or had their patents bought and burned by Big Oil. There are plenty of inventions out there, just not enough money to keep them from being buried.
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:16amAnd the quest for Utopia continues …
Report Post »moonpeace
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:13amNice! Is there room for the wife and kids?
Report Post »POIPNE
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:43amNope, maybe you could take the dog though (if it’s small).
Report Post »SDmom
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:12amHigh school students designed this car and beat all but one college in competition. That’s impressive.
Report Post »bhelmet
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:10amTop speed 15mph – something hits you, you die. I know that is not the point, but there is always a caveat. Great example of our answers lie in the private sector and the innovation it spurs.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 3:33pmI just call it a speed bump.
Report Post »otmonger
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:01amI bet when it is -20deg. the heater works great!!!!
Report Post »markamerica
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:54amWow! I can’t wait to see this thing go through some federally mandated crash-testing. I mean, where are the passive restraints and airbags mounted? And what about the crumple-zones? And is that tempered safety glass? And does it have reinforcements in the doors to guard against t-bone-style collisions? How does it bear up in offset head-ons? Does it accomodate a 400lb welfare mother and her six screaming brats by six absent fathers? Is it considered an SUV?
I mean, once the government gets its grubby hands on this…
Report Post »stinkybisquit
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:09amHey what’s the big idea? Everyone is beating me to the punch on logical statements this morning. Great minds must think alike.
Report Post »POIPNE
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:38amCollisions? Will it survive the car wash?
Report Post »Mike N
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 1:10pmNot to worry, Mark . . . now that California knows it’s possible to get 760 MPG with a vehicle, they’ll mandate that by 2015, all vehicles sold in CA must average 800 MPG, run only on MTBE spiked ethanol, and have voice-activated controls that understand only Spanish.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:53amI read that before the “revolution” in Libya started, the Libyan people were paying 40 cents a gallon. Since we own Iraq and now Libya, I say we import 40 cents a gallon gas to the U.S. and leave all the hybrid, electic etc. b.s. to the Europeans.
Report Post »Swordsmansmith
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:53amBig oil will buy the design pay the guy big $ and put it on the shelf forever. The same thing pharmesutical companies did with aids and cancer cures. Buy the patent and never use it. Too much $ to be made.
Report Post »Laus Deo
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:50amHow ’bout the car which runs 760mi on BS? We all know how abundant is the supply in the U.S. Or, maybe a BS/Hypocrisy Hybrid…
Report Post »steve-in-pa
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:47amGasoline does not burn, only the vapor burns. Feed the engine the vapor of the gas in the airflow intake instead of injecting the liquid gas directly into the cylinders will increase the MPG dramatically. But car companies will not implement this technology to protect the oil companies.
Report Post »stinkybisquit
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:13amBasically, a car set up for LPG, right? (not making a smartass statement)
Report Post »steve-in-pa
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 10:32amI’m not sure how to do it. There was a guy who came to Erie with a 77 Lincoln Continental that got 100-120 MPG. The news said it used a blower system to feed the vapor to the carburetor. They showed the blueprints and the guy said he would send anyone a copy for free. I am not an engineer so I don’t know how the guy did it. And that story was aired about 15-20 years ago. I wish barry would let cars switch to LPG it would be cheeper than the gas prices here.
Report Post »aaronkcmo
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:11amFuel injectors atomize the liquid gasoline. If fuel injectors just dumped liquid gasoline into the cylinders, it would not burn, just like you say. Carburetors also atomize fuel but do so using the venturi effect of air passing through a constriction. The main advantage to fuel injection, and the main reason why it’s used exclusively in autos today, is that you can precisely control the air-to-fuel mixture to each cylinder which is critical to combustion/heat exchange/overall efficiency. To say that engines are not efficient because of fuel injection is ridiculous. Fuel injection coupled with electronic ignition are the main reasons engines produce more power more efficiently today than they did 20 years ago.
Report Post »steve-in-pa
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 6:55pmI was saying if you could just use the vapors of gasoline it would be more efficient than injectors, I would think. There are videos I found on Google/YouTube showing lawn mowers and cars running on a “bubbler system” using just a jar and some tubing, it’s very interesting and very low tech.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:46amWhat a waste of time. How about gas mileage on a practical car. Kind of like the human powered plane. Big deal, it has no practical application.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:15amFringe edge science like this actually can teach us things. It’s students doing what creative students do. While the vehicle itself has no practical application, the ideas implemented to come up with these kinds of things can sometimes be used as stand alone innovations on actual real life vehicles.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:33amYes, and unicorns poop magical pixie dust that allows people to fly.
Report Post »KPEdwards
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:38amIt’s proof of concept stuff, and really can lead to a better understanding of aerodynamics – which is what won the automotive X-prize last year. Edison2 was the winner and ran completely on E85, and got 102 MPGe really on weight, small engine displacement, and aerodynamics.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 10:31amYou do know Ted that Edison went through an awful lot of prototypes before coming up with the incandescent bulb, right? Every single failure or success taught him something that eventually allowed him to create his crowning glory invention.
They’re kids, at least they’re engaging themselves in the world, learning math and science, and trying to do something with their lives. I for one commend such attitudes and encourage them, who knows, maybe some of them will go on to become great inventors that have meaningful impact in our lives.
Report Post »9111315
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 4:16pmWhere can I get some of that magical pixie dust?
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:45amWhat does it look like after a semi runs it over……..
Report Post »stinkybisquit
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:07amWait until the NTSB adds about 800 pounds worth of NTSB safety bumpers, airbags, seat belts, side impact panels, headlights, rear view mirrors. It’ll be lucky to move, let alone get 760 mpg. Factor in a penalty for a single occupancy 4 wheeled vehicle in a lot of cities, and higher insurance rates for being classified as a sports coupe, and it sounds like a great bargain.
Report Post »Deepdiver58
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:39amI’ll bet they did not pay their mileage tax.
Report Post »uncleskull
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:19amYeah, that MN (soon to be US) “mileage” tax would be a killer.
Just like POTUS – wants you to buy a “green” car then hits you with a mileage tax because you’re not buying enough gas.
Report Post »mtnclimberjim
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:39amI can ride a bike 700 miles and let a gallon of gas sit there and evaporate too.
Report Post »aro5o75
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:38amIt runs on food not gas.
Report Post »boodrow
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 3:48pmThe corn that they make ethanol from in not eatable. It‘s altered to the point that it’s toxic to anything that would eat it. The bad thing is, there is no way to stop it from cross pollinating with corn for human and animal consumption. We maybe soon without corn as a food source if these GMO ethanol corn plants are not destroyed.
Report Post »Phantom2487
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 4:56pm@ boodrow
I grew the stuff before changing careers, it‘s not ’toxic’ as your un-researched post states, it‘s just not ’human‘ food quality meaning it’s not intended to be eaten directly by humans. After all the corn used for ethanol production is mature — low moisture meaning it’s hard, the corn you eat is not mature — soft.
And as far as the non-cross pollination bit producers aren’t allowed to re-seed crops using last years seed as next years; thus the original source seed is VERY well protected from cross pollination.
Because of ethanol though and the grants used to keep that industry alive the consumption of corn has resulted in a huge price gain in the last few years meaning that eventually food will be effected — primarily the meat markets.
Report Post »LadyIzShy
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:36amburning food for fuel? while this car sounds great i do not see how we can do it.. maybe im too blonde to get it
Report Post »HUNITHUNIT
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:10amThere are many ways to make ethanol not using corn…i.e. algae farms. But, because our lovely politicians are so fond of pork, corn has to be used in a certain percentage of all ethanol. Thank the great Senators from the bread basket states.
Report Post »9111315
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 4:13pmWe may be eating algae or anything else that can be made into ethanol soon, so the question is still relevant. Why are we burning food in cars?
Report Post »NSDQ
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:35amThey got second place? Bigger story who/what came in first!
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:27amWe don’t know. The group of them committed simultaneous group suicide by drowning themselves in 55 gallon barrels of oil. No explanation is forthcoming as to why they fell into such an angst ridden state of depression so suddenly like that.
Report Post »KPEdwards
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:29amCanada‘s Quebec’s Université Laval – with 2,565 mpg. Which is still less than France‘s Nantes’ 10,705 mpg win back in 2003.
source:
Report Post »http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-04/20/eco-marathon-winner
MadisonLives
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:31am760 miles per gallon? Was it downhill? Did he have a sail? Something doesn’t seem right here… where’s the explantion of HOW he achieved that breakthrough?
Report Post »seljo1701
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:34amObviously, it’s a hybrid bicycle. When the gas runs out in 20 miles, start pedaling for 700! (joking). Seriously, it looks like a moped with a aerodynamic shell.
Report Post »BetsyRoss1513
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:43amI’m sure the explanation will be forthcoming. That is, if the FedGov doesn’t make him disappear. We can’t POSSIBLY allow this idea to reach the light of day, y’know, let’s not let anyone get 760 mpg! That would toast Big Oil.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:30amWho drove the 760 miles (LOL)? Ouch! Get government out of the way and good things happen.
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:35amGuys don’t take it to the freeway .
Report Post »awall1231
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:30amwont be long till that design is stolen and never heard from again.
Report Post »stinkybisquit
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:41amDarn it, you beat me. Just like the carburetor ad from old Popular Mechanics magazines, and the water pill.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:44amSure. Hey, honey, lets pile the kids into that one and go tot he beach.
Cough…cough
Report Post »kerf
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:55amWhy in the name of God would anyone steal the design, it’s a bicycle with a motor on it. Yeah it gets great mileage but it’s not street legal, could never be made DOT compliant and has no practical application. Do either of you ever think before you type?
Report Post »9111315
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:02am“wont be long till that design is stolen and never heard from again.”
Really! The design is right there in your face. It’s not magic, it lite – very lite.
I don’t think you will see peple driving to work in it because
1. No side impact air bags.
2. No high center mount stop light – no lights at all – not street legal
No 4 wheel disk brakes. (probable no brakes at all)
It is so light it will wear out in under 1000 miles, so no 36 mo 36,000 bumper to bumper on this one.
This is a great project for the kids. Give them an problem/challenge to solve and they solve it. Plus they come in second place. Congratulations to them. Well done and I bet they learned a lot.
However, if you think this is a real solution, you are suffer a delusion. If you are joking, not so funny during this energy crises.
– oh, with food prices climbing, they actually got 760 miles on a gallon of ethanol. How may cobs of corn would that be?
Again, congratulations kids — it is these other idiots that piss me off.
Report Post »commentkazi
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:10amWon’t be long before the students are gone and never heard from again.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:36amOh come now. Using a bicycle frame, an efficient engine and some thin fiberglass skin is hardly some kind of top secret revolutionary idea. I suspect anybody could make a care like this with a simple weed wacker engine, decent mechanical skills and some spare time.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:27am.
Report Post »And some of us think Govt. is the answer…………….
jhonjhonson1
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:16amWhere do I put my golf clubs????
Report Post »sleazyhippo
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:17amWho sponsored the contest?
Report Post »wildjoker5
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:20amGuess what the government is about to buy and bury till the end of time.
Much like the car in the 70′s that got 75 MPG, bought by Ford and never seen again.
mrsmileyface
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:26amGM (Government Moters) makes the Chevy Volt and it gets 40 mi to the single charge and catches fire while its charging. College kids make a vehicle and it gets 760 mi to the gallon. Imagine that.
Report Post »POIPNE
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:27amWill it pull a bass boat?
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:29amThere have been quite a few vehicles with extremely high gas mileage. The problem with them is that they are more or less built like this vehicle and are highly impractical for anything except winning contests.
Where they excel however is in giving makers of actual human-use vehicles new ideas, which is ultimately a net gain for us.
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:32amthis is great but can they do as well without burning FOOD??? Maybe make it more like a VW at least.. I wouldn’t want to be next to a truck in a car that low..LOL.. I already drive a small car but at least it’s as high as a car..
Report Post »Cerealface
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:02amThat piece of crap only got 2nd place. My bicycle can go 700 miles without a tank of gas. Unless you counted the tanks of gas to put it together and ship it to me.
Report Post »Rich White Christian Conservative
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:05amI would like to invest…please advise.
Report Post »KimH211
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:19amPlease burn something other than ethanol. Please.
Report Post »obfuscatenot
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 9:53amMr.Smiley- Not college kids- HIGH SCHOOL KIDS!
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 10:32amAnd look it seats, one half.
Report Post »P C BE DAMNED
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 10:43amGet real, did they carry any drywall to a work site. No not even groceries home. I’am not ever going to ride in something like this. Hell I have a good truck and I am not in a Comunist mind set. This puts these children in a comunist mind set. And you go America with the birther question. Us ignorant citizens are usually right even though our so called leaders think not.
Report Post »BoiseBaked
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:34amWhoop-ty do. It probably uses a sail! Was anything actually learned? Any new ideas that’s actually applicable and viable to real life? I can see it now. I get a resume that lists as an accomplishment that submitter created a 172 mpg car that uses a sail. My first impression: NEXT!!!!!!!! NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!!!!!
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:34amWhere do the kids sit and where do you put the groceries?
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:43amCheck out THIS car, it is WAY cooler and can fly:
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=635469588001
Report Post »My Two Cents
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:56amI wouldn’t mind having one to carry in the back of my pickup. It would come in handy if my spare was flat.
All kidding aside, it is nice to see high school kids doing something other than playing with their iPhones.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:10pmShow us more about the car if you can call it a car.
Report Post »Mike N
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 12:45pmTo Sleazy Hippo . . . . YOU did!
Report Post »ecurbyy
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:01pmReally? I don‘t think I’d want to travel 760 ft. in this thing let alone 760 mi.
Report Post »chalkdust
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 2:42pm@Ceralface, I know you were kidding but I thought it would be great to point out that if you rode 700 miles on a bicycle, you would actually be using oil. Factoring in oil to grow the food (petrochemicals and fertilizer) to fuel you and oil to ship to its respective location I suspect your milage would be worse. Oil is vital to our society and currently there is nothing yet to replace it.
Report Post »Cerealface
Posted on April 20, 2011 at 3:27pm@chad
Report Post »Lol. Fine. I’ll ride naked and only eat fruit that grows on wild trees.
Physicist_In_Training
Posted on April 21, 2011 at 1:02amHaha. I bet there’s pedals in there…and not the kind you push…the kind you pedal. Actually, this is pretty cool. The only engine I know of that is efficient enough to get anywhere near that kind of mileage — even for a car that small — is a turbine engine, which we don‘t use in cars because they’re too big and too expensive to build and too hard to maintain (too many small, moving parts). I seriously doubt there’s a turbine in there, so I wonder what they used?
Seriously though…if this got second, then who got first, and why aren’t we reading about them? Very cool story.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on April 21, 2011 at 6:46amExperimental and practical are two completely different things, obviously.
When I was a kid a made a paper airplane that would fly 20 yards and didn’t use any fuel at all.
Report Post »Igno Ramus
Posted on April 22, 2011 at 8:38pmMRSMILEYFACE—That’s HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS! That’s right high school students can build a more fuel efficient vehicle than GM, FORD, DIAMLER/CHRYSLER, TOYOTA, HONDA, VOLVO, etc.,etc.,etc………. What a shame. We can’t have this! We gotta find a way to STOP this from happening. Whata these guys think they’re doing? They’re gonna bring down the auto industry! OMG! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Report Post »We need more Government oversight!
Are they liscensed to build cars?
Is that thing LEGAL?
They musta CHEATED!
They don’t have overhead like we do!
We demand they open their shop up to the UAW!
Buy UNION! Buy UNION!