Wouldn't you know it, Auto X Prize says people support 100 MPG cars
While I don't doubt that a 100+ mpg car would be widely popular in America, I just feel the need to headline this story the way I did because so convenient that the X Prize Foundation just released a study showing this. The Auto X Prize, an idea I fully support, says that 62 percent of Americans want to buy 100+ mpg cars, and think these vehicles represent "one of the most powerful ideas for combating global warming and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil." Apparently, the global warming hoaxsters aren't reaching more than 38 percent of the population. Survey respondents were also in support of solar and wind energy tax credits, so maybe that's a direction for the next X Prize to explore. You can read the X Prize Foundation's full press release after the jump and visit the Auto X Prize's site here. One interesting survey result was the gender divide. According to Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, the group that ran the study on July 25-29, men see "the primary benefit of super-efficient autos as saving money on gas (38 percent) while women believe that the biggest benefit to buy a 100 MPG car is reducing pollution and global warming (35 percent)." Anyone want to comment on that?
Related:
- Automotive X-Prize announces first 31 teams accepted to competition
- FuelVapor Technologies shows off X-Prize competitor
- New senior director, Donald Foley, joins Auto X Prize Foundation
Aug 07, 2007 07:55 ET
Americans See 100 MPG Cars as Biggest Fix for Global Warming
Sixty-Two Percent of Americans Express Strong Interest in Purchasing 100 MPG Vehicles, According to New Survey Results by the X PRIZE Foundation
SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwire - August 07, 2007) - Americans see the development of 100 mile-per-gallon cars as one of the most powerful ideas for combating global warming and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, according to survey results released today. When asked to choose among six options to address climate change and global warming, 22 percent of all Americans surveyed chose the development of a super-efficient 100 mpg vehicle, while 20 percent chose providing tax credits for solar and wind power as the next best idea.
The survey results were announced by the X PRIZE Foundation, which is currently developing an independent, technology-neutral competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles. The Automotive X PRIZE will provide a multi-million dollar purse to the teams that can design, build and bring to market 100 MPG or equivalent fuel economy vehicles. The competition is expected to culminate in a Tour de France-style road race traveling through multiple cities while broadcast to a global audience in 2009 and 2010.
Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of all Americans expressed a strong interest in purchasing 100 MPG vehicles and more than three quarters (76 percent) of those surveyed thought such a development would be extremely or very important to the United States.
"It is clear to most Americans that the need to conserve energy and to find alternative means to power our automobiles is important to national security, as well as to their pocketbooks," said Donald J. Foley, executive director of the Automotive X PRIZE. "The development of super-efficient vehicles is imperative if we are going to move beyond the incremental changes mandated by the federal government and those considered by Congress."
The national survey conducted July 25-29, 2007, by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research indicates an interesting gender divide on the issue, with men seeing the primary benefit of super-efficient autos as saving money on gas (38 percent) while women believe that the biggest benefit to buy a 100 MPG car is reducing pollution and global warming (35 percent).
Consumers remain wary of the costs of owning a highly fuel-efficient vehicle, naming cost by more than a 2-1 (43-19) margin over other reasons they would have doubts about buying such a car.
"Automakers understand the price-sensitivity of the buying public and developing a super-efficient vehicle will not exempt them from addressing this core, consumer concern," added Foley. "We stipulate in our draft competition guidelines that vehicles must meet strict safety, efficiency and carbon emissions as well as finish in the fastest times. To win in the marketplace, teams must obviously develop vehicles that consumers can afford and will find attractive to buy."
To review the survey questions and responses in full, please visit www.auto.xprize.org or email autoprize@xprize.org.
The Automotive X PRIZE announced earlier this month that 31 teams from 5 nations have already signaled their intent to compete for the multi-million dollar prize. The independent effort has already received the support of several key federal agencies including the Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory, Department of Transportation's National Highway, Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA); the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
ABOUT THE AUTOMOTIVE X PRIZE
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 stage race for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 miles per gallon equivalent fuel economy. For more information please visit www.auto.xprize.org or email autoprize@xprize.org.
ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION
The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. On October 4, 2004, the X PRIZE Foundation captured world headlines 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 Foundation has since expanded its mission beyond space exploration to offer new prizes for breakthroughs in the areas of life improvement, equity of opportunity and sustainability. In October of 2006, the X PRIZE Foundation announced the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for genomics, which will reward the first private effort to map 100 human genomes in 10 days ushering in a new era of personalized preventative medicine. For more information please visit www.xprize.org or email press@xprize.org.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Don 1:39PM (8/07/2007)
Really? People support 100 mpg cars?
Wow. That's genius.
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naggs 5:15PM (8/07/2007)
this whole xprize for cars is a total waste of time. if a rag tag group can cobble together a vehicle that is sutable for production that gets 100 mpg, then they win 10 million bucks
if GM or any other automaker could do that they would earn themselves 10 billion.
which do you think is more likely
1) that every car company on earth hasnt tried 'thinking outside the box' and that some guys in their garage are going to make a car that costs just as much but is 3 or 4 times as efficient
or
2) that the billions of dollars invested every year by car companies around the world are wasted and they should really just put up a 10 million dollar prize for all their research...
im sure some will hit the 100 mpg mark but it will not be in anything remotly close to something you could legally sell in the US for anything like what the public would be willing to pay. the technology is just not there, this is a waste of time.
on a different note, the other xprize for 'space' travel. that will result in nothing also. it will work till people will die then it will end. burt rutan is an asshole and those three people that died under his employ are his responsibility. as is the billions that are going to be lost in that failed venture.
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sly_1 8:44PM (8/07/2007)
"this whole xprize for cars is a total waste of time. if a rag tag group can cobble together a vehicle that is sutable for production that gets 100 mpg, then they win 10 million bucks"
Not necessarily. Businesses of all kinds experience inertia, a lot of companies, especially companies in highly competitive industries with razor thin margins like the auto industry are extremely risk averse.
If ford spends millions developing, crash testing, and marketing a vehicle, 100 mpg or 10 mpg it doesn't matter it's a disaster if the car doesn't sell.
Besides, it's asinine to assume that individuals and/or small companies are incapable of innovation that exceeds what large companies are capable of. History is replete with "little guys" coming up with big ideas that changed the world.
At the end of the day, there are some highly innovative and exciting ideas being worked on by the companies involved in the x prize. If one or more of the teams comes up with a commercially viable engine that gets 100mpg, this contest will have been *anything* other than a "waste of time".
Peace.
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sly_1 8:49PM (8/07/2007)
oh, and as an aside, what about the success of the last x-prize contest? A private team built a spaceship that achieved orbit for tens of millions of dollars.
NASA, the worlds premiere space organization, hasn't developed a single spacecraft for less than hundreds of millions of dollars. If larger organizations with near unlimited financing are always better than little companies, how was the winning team able to send a vehicle into orbit for a fraction of what NASA can do it for?
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calebe 7:49AM (8/08/2007)
people in the USA would support a 100mpg vehicle if it went zero to 60 mph in 5 seconds and was as big as a Chevy suburban. Not that they would ever take off from a stop light that fast. Where I live they could get by with 5 hp at take off. They crawl away and never get over 35-40 mph. Just fast enought to catch the next red light.where they idle some more and burn fuel.
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Alex 9:13AM (8/08/2007)
"im sure some will hit the 100 mpg mark but it will not be in anything remotly close to something you could legally sell in the US for anything like what the public would be willing to pay. the technology is just not there, this is a waste of time."
You are right... and wrong. Someone will definitely produce a car capable of 100mpg and it will not be crash worthy or financially feasible as a mass production vehicle. However, this is far from a waste of time.
We can only advance the auto industry by experimenting. It is essential that groups - be it inside or outside of the auto industry - work on technology that is currently impractical. It's one of the most common ways to move forward.
Take Tesla for example. The company was started by people who were completely uninvolved in the auto industry. They were all computer/technology geeks. But they were able to approach a known problem from a different angle. Now their vehicle is one of the most anticipated exotics.
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Alex 9:19AM (8/08/2007)
Also, this "study" was a waste of time. I could have told you that most people would give a thumbs up to a car that gets 100mpg. I could have also told you that males would be more inclined to purchase one for the cost savings while women would purchase it for it's environmental friendliness.
But in the real world, it takes more than phenomenal mpg to sell a car. it needs to be practical. people want performance, style, reliability, and a countless list of other requirements.
In the meantime I'll keep my fingers crossed for the future savings of both the environment and my wallet.
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red 4:11PM (8/12/2007)
"But in the real world, it takes more than phenomenal mpg to sell a car. it needs to be practical. people want performance, style, reliability, and a countless list of other requirements."
The Automotive X PRIZE is specifically going for a car that meets practical considerations, like passing U.S. safety regulations, affordability, and various other features that indicate that it would be marketable. They aren't looking for a concept car. If a competitor makes a 100 mpg vehicle that doesn't meet these other requirements (including winning a race), it won't win the money. The official rules aren't out yet, but that's the direction they're going.
Dozens of teams have put down money to register to compete, so at least they think they can win even with these requirements. We'll have to wait and watch their progress, and the eventual races, to see what happens.
Ray (Space Prizes blog)
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