BrocktonEnergy drops out of Auto X-Prize, puts car on eBay
At least one hopeful Automotive X-Prize competitor won't be participating in the event as planned. It seems that Brockton Energy wasn't quite able to achieve its goal of hitting 100 miles per gallon with the modified Chrysler LeBaron convertible that the team was working with, so the car is now on eBay.
According to the seller, the car has undergone two years of research and development work, including 40 different sets of wheels, tires and driveline parts. Additionally, the weight was reduced by about 300 pounds. These modifications have paid off with a claimed average fuel economy of 50 miles per gallon. That's quite a leap over what the stock 3.0L V6 engine was able to manage from the factory, but there's absolutely zero outside verification of this figure.
Wired did a little digging and found that the force behind BrocktonEnergyLLC may be Paul Zigouras, a man that claims to have invented something called a hydroxy gas electrolyzer system. We're not touching this one with a ten foot pole, so feel free to draw your own conclusions as to what's going on with this particular LeBaron. Interested? Bidding has thus far reached $1,900.
UPDATE: This is apparently not an ex-X-Prize car. Just hype.
[Source: eBay via Wired]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick 7:03PM (2/06/2009)
The guy just wants to make money selling his wife's old Chrysler for more than it's worth.
He hopes his 'XPrize' mention and the 50mpg claim will get it off his front yard, maybe he should also throw in his hydroxy energized or whatever the scam is called..
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Adam 7:48PM (2/06/2009)
Actually it isn't a scam, or is depending on your results. It is a Brown's Gas generator that splits water into the perfect stochastic ratio of H2 and O. Then injects this stream of gas into the intake air stream. What it does is oxygen enrich the air intake and provide fuel (the H2). This causes the combustion of the car to run much cooler and depending on the engine and parameters can affect a noticeable improvement in power and economy.
While there are tons of online sites that offer to show you how "run your car on water" (google it) it seems there is something to be said for using this gas stream in addition to the normal operation of a gasoline or diesel burning engine to improve the economy and/or power. Some engines show large gains, some show none.
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Chris M 9:03PM (2/06/2009)
That "Browns gas" is extremely bulky, so it displaces part of the air that would normally enter the engine. Since the amount of the O2 in "Browns Gas" is all burned by the H2 and there is less atmospheric O2 going in, that leaves less O2 to burn the fuel, so the amount of fuel going in must also be reduced. Result, less fuel burned.
Unfortunately, the low density "Browns gas" has much less energy than the air/fuel mixture it displaces, so the power and performance are also reduced.
Result, better fuel economy caused by reduced power. It would be cheaper to go light on the accelerator, and it would be more efficient to use a smaller engine.
gorr 1:00PM (2/11/2009)
If you were a petrol buyer instead of a petrol seller your arguments will be reversed concerning brown gas properties. Brown gas is basically free, non-polluting and more powerful then gasoline.
You are a state employee promoting petrol.
Adam 9:30PM (2/06/2009)
You are probably right in most aspects. But from what I have read in many real world tests where many people have implemented these generators on their vehicles, the results have have been anywhere from no noticeable difference to very noticeable improvements in economy and operation. Like I said, seems to really depend on the design of the engine, fuel injection system efficiency, quality of fuel, temp, to name a few things.
I agree on the going light on the accelerator, but that isn't they way humans operate. ;-) But if you could force your existing engine to give you more miles per gallon no matter what, that would also be a good thing.
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gorr 11:10PM (2/06/2009)
It depend on 3 things, the quality of the electrolyser and the quantity of hot gas produced, the precision of the carburation re-calibration, the success of the ignition timing re-calibration.
For the serious folks a complete high-quality special ice conceived for this gas with all parameters adapted for hho fuel can produce a lot of horsepowers and efficiency. A 2 liters 4 cylinders with turbo and water mist injection can produce 600 h.p.
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Brian P 5:55PM (2/07/2009)
Ummm "water mist injection" is different from these (IMO useless) Brown's gas generators. It's quite plausible that a 2-litre highly turbocharged engine with water injection could make 600 horsepower ... and it will use fuel at a rate that is entirely expected of such an engine when doing so. The brake specific fuel consumption figures won't be anything special ...
HHO or Browns gas etc are all a scam. If the electrical demand is as low as the scammers claim then the additional hydrogen and oxygen going into the engine will be in the parts-per-million range and won't accomplish anything. If the electrolyzer were seriously large so that the amount of hydrogen and oxygen is significant enough to increase the speed of combustion as the scammers claim, then the electrical demand on the engine will suck out more power than the hydrogen/oxygen combustion could add.
Unlike traffic laws, the laws of thermodynamics can't be broken.
gorr 5:54PM (2/09/2009)
Im shopping for a cheap powerful sport car, so get out the way with your tax gimmick. You
are a mental retarded that don't believe the numerous water-powered cars that we see in youtube. This technology works since the beginning of the universe where we were flying in u.f.o's from planets to planets. I said in the bible time, 2009 and more years ago to separate the water molecule in 2 for free fuel. This delay in time, 2009 years, is because almost anyone is a past criminal having done human experimentations with laser beams connected to the nerve system to women attached to chairs. Since then, everyones feel guilty and is worrying if we must power the corpses with fossil fuel(humans, amimals, grass) or a water-battery like the one from genepax( robot corpses).
Don't disturb anymore my buying bids with silly religion beliefs or disbeliefs. Mental, religion, unconcious mind, social heresy, past deaths, guilty consciense and feelings, can be discuss in another website.
Im asking that we talk just about green, non-poluting, cheap, reliable, powerful, attractive, entertaining cars. The best with actual technology for the car and the method of producing it can lead in a couple of weeks or months in a sport car of 600 h.p of 15 000%, approx.without fuel cost and pollution.
I don't give a damn about the arguing painful beliefs of the weak seing scam everywhere
about endless energy, in unlimited quantity for all the time without cost and pollution. Just the road accidents, traffic jams, car thiefs, speeding tickets, parking fees, mechanical problems will remain.
Bethann Buddenbaum 12:12PM (2/07/2009)
It's flattering that the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE is being used to validate this eBay sale, except for the fact that Brockton Energy was never a participant in the competition. A complete list of LOI Contenders and the first round of Registered Teams can be found here - http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/teams/letter-of-intent-contenders
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Brian P 5:55PM (2/07/2009)
HAha ... Busted!
banzairx7 9:44AM (2/09/2009)
This is no surprise seeing where the car is coming from. The city of Brockton is one of the scariest places in Massachusetts. Its known for its daily shootings & robberies.
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j 2:57PM (2/09/2009)
If I am not mistaken, Zigouras is the same guy who got raided for cocaine trafficking (along with illegal firearm possession) a few times in the 80's in Brockton.
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