New York 2008: Fuel Vapor technologies alé on the stand
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Back in August, the Canadian company Fuel Vapor Technologies was one of the original teams announced as participants in the Automotive X Prize. In New York this week, a version of the company's entry vehicle, known as the alé, was on display during the announcement. Obviously designed for the alternative class - the three wheels give that away - the alé has been in development for two years and the prototype that uses a proprietary fuel vapor system and a standard internal combustion engine that has already moved the alé around at 92 mpg. Getting those extra eight or nine mpg to meet the X Prize's 100 mpge requirement shouldn't be too hard, as FVT plans on adding a series hybrid powertrain to the alé that will allow the car to use the batteries for most of the miles it covers. Once the X Prize is over, FVT plans on hand-building 100-200 vehicles a year and then possibly partnering with another company to make 10,000 units per year.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
William Hill 9:00PM (3/22/2008)
OK I've been looking around the net in hopes of finding an electric family car I can invest in. I have one question and that is why do plug in vehicles look so stupid, why can't it look like my Ford Taurus (or similar)?
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GoodCheer 9:17PM (3/22/2008)
William Hill: I think you're looking for the Miles Javlon, or maybe the AC Propulsion eBox. The series hybird Volvo ReCharge is also pretty conventional looking. I'm going to go ahead and guess that at some point the Mitsubishi MiEV will stop looking like that much of a departure as well. (i.e., styles will change).
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Peter L 11:37PM (3/22/2008)
I saw this car last summer. A beautiful vehicle that deserves to win.
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Smog 8:01AM (3/23/2008)
I just don't see the point in that engine; any low CC engine in a shell like that will do that kind of mpg; even VW sold a production hatchback car with 2 doors, 4 places and a 3 cyl diesel engine... in 2001.
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Smog 8:11AM (3/23/2008)
"meet the X Prize's 100 mpge requirement shouldn't be too hard, as FVT plans on adding a series hybrid powertrain"
I just hope VW register a slightly modified 2001 Lupo 3L that was able to do 100MPG out of the dealership doors in 2001. Yup the technology is available but nobody wanted to pay the premium for an aluminium and magnesium Lupo 3L over the regular Lupo.
sorry, it was 9 years ago : http://www.diskdrive.co.za/newsstories/vw_lupo3ltdi.html
since 1999 VW even made a prototype going 225 miles a galon (1L/100km) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car
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rgseidl 8:56AM (3/23/2008)
@ Smog -
3L of diesel for 100km in the NEDC is substantially less than 100MPGe in the EPA cycle. Never mind what it delivered in the real world.
The 1L concept was also a tandem seater and relied extensively on carbon fiber to reduce weight yet maintain crashworthiness. The engine was a 300cc single-cylinder diesel. Again, actually achieving the advertised fuel economy depended on driving like a grandmother.
VW's ex-CEO/ex-chairman Ferdinand Piech and current CEO Martin Winterkorn have indicated that the 1L concept might go into small series production if a supplier of low-cost carbon fiber parts can be found. The primary objective would be to gain experience in volume manufacturing techniques for the material.
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howard 11:30AM (3/24/2008)
To William Hill; Check into the TESLA! They're just beginning to develop a family sedan that will equal or almost equal the bios on the TESLA ROADSTER; 250 mile range and recharge of the new batteries they're going to use will be 5 minutes! Top speed 125 mph of course if you drive the normal speed you could get up to 300 mpc!I'm looking into the ROADSTER since i've already raised 8, one son died a year ago of a massive heart attack! After training them myself I turned them out to the world! they're all including three girls qualified mechanics and one girl a Champion Drag Racer in NHRA under her married name, Peggy Burns!
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Robert Rogers 9:51PM (3/28/2008)
Makes me mad. Does anyone remember Tom Ogle? 1977 he demonstrated a car that ran 200 miles on a single gallon of gasoline. Tried to launch the concept and was immediately labled as a drug addicted kook who ends up committing suicide (supposedly)....31 years later it's still classified as the future car. Future my ass...thanks General Motors for all the years of support. Want to win the war on terror? Make oil worthless...sand is hard to export.
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