X Prize: major automakers were approached but won't enter, sponsor cars
According to Michigan Live, the Auto X-Prize approached all the top auto makers but none has entered the competition. In fact, the major auto makers won't even sponsor cars. Donald Foley, executive director of the Auto X-Prize, still holds out hope, saying, "we would very much like them to participate, and over the last year we've talked to many OEMs and our view is we want their participation."
I guess one of major automakers might enter before it's over. Why give up all that free press? I guess there are risks. Losing to some guy in a garage, for example, and they really don't need the $10m prize money. It's not like they need the inspiration either with things like the new 35 CAFE standard. Over 50 teams have already entered the competition to make a green car for a $10m prize, so who needs the Big Three anyway?
Related:
- Wired Magazine January 2008 cover: the race to make 100 MPG car
- SciAm names X Prize Foundation the "Policy Leader of the Year"
- Cornell University X-Prize team to base their car on a Geo Metro
- Overview: teams competing in the Automotive X-Prize
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CARazed 11:11PM (1/31/2008)
Why wouldn't they enter? Why wouldn't they sponsor? Hmmmmm, great fodder for conspiracy theorists. I think we should just stop buying new cars until they start building more efficient cars. They'll listen to their wallets. http://www.carazed.com/2008/01/16/vote-with-your-wallet/
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sila332 4:21AM (2/01/2008)
Yeah, lets stop buying cars.....right. Actually the prize is so poorly conceived that it might just be a guy working with his garage, using no really grounbreaking technology but with a little bit of luck, that might walk away with 10 mil. This prize might actually work against our search for viable solutions to a real problem by putting on display a lot of really weak technology. I'd say the big three might be staying away because it could all end up looking very silly.
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Chris 9:34AM (2/01/2008)
they don't enter and they don't sponsor so that they can cherry pick some free thinking and open minded design.
As soon as they become involved all sorts of government regulations creep in which could thwart this whole effort.
It isn't the big automakers or big oil that has gotten in the way of new people entering the automobile markets or engine markets, its the government through its overly burdensome regulation
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GoodCheer 9:53AM (2/01/2008)
sila332.
That is the first time I've heard that opinion expressed. Reading through the X-Prize web pages I found the rules to be very well laid out. I don't think we need any groundbreaking technology to get off the oil teat, we just need implementation, which is why the X-Prize is specifically technology neutral.
Can you elaborate on why you think it is "poorly conceived", or why any vehicle that satisfies their requirements should be called "weak technology"?
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Whopper 11:29AM (2/01/2008)
I don't propose to know why the auto makers choose not to become involved in the X-prize, but I can suggest some ideas. A multi-billion dollar corporation must have internal rules to control the business (program reviews, safety committees etc.). All of that adds cost and time delay to the endeavor. It would probably cost GM ten times the X-prize to run such a program and it would occupy resources (engineering) needed to work CAFE. What is needed is a Kelly Johnson Skunk Works kind of operation. Get Burt Rutan involved, not GM.
The original X-prize was born from a quote from Mr. Rutan when he decried the money spent by the government to get to the moon. He said to offer $10M to anyone who could get to the moon and back and free enterprise will get it done in 1/10 the time the government will take and have money left over from the prize.
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sila332 5:49PM (2/01/2008)
Perhaps I should have said vague instead of weak. The problem is that its hard to specify just what is a technology or design that is ready for "mass production". I just can't imagine that a team that wins the highest mpg rating is going to be disqualified because their design can't be "mass produced". With that much money at stake there would be massive, endless, litigation. So we may end up with teams gaming the system and very little useful innovation.
It wouldn't bother me so much if the x-prize wasn't one of the few creative initiatives with some real money behind it. They were able to get guys like Rutan to start a new space race, but with this effort they'll likely get funky cars with creative bodywork. The rules could have been more focussed and more likely to get useful results.
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Jim Bullis 7:14PM (2/14/2008)
What would happen if everyone who read this would blog everywhere they can, saying "American car companies are chicken for being afraid to enter the X PRIZE!!!"
Maybe if it was heard often enough they would have to step up to the job.
A lot of progress was made in the early auto days through competition.
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