The Automotive X Prize

So if you haven't heard, the people behind the X-Prize are going for something much more down to earth: the automotive X-Prize. The winner is the first person to make a viable production car that will carry at least two people and go 100 miles on a single gallon of gas.

Instapundit linked to a Popular Mechanics story on the Auto X-Prize a few days ago and it this point:

"There's no business case for it," says GM's Juechter. "How many people would spend $200,000 on a car that would ultimately save them a few thousand dollars on fuel over the life of the car?" That's the worst-case scenario in terms of price estimates, but there's little doubt that a 100-mpg car would cost thousands more than today's bigger, more powerful vehicles.

Exactly. Relentless pursuit of fuel economy can create what is essentially false economy. Buy a car that costs thousands or tens of thousands more than a conventional auto is a poor investment. And you won't just be sacrificing cold hard cash, in order to get a 100 mpg car you'll have to sacrifice acceleration, handling, and probably even crash safety as well.

I honestly don't see the mainstream class yielding a practical four person vehicle anytime soon. You could get a concept car out of it, but not something that would be street legal and comply with the regulatory requirements of US vehicles. The alternative class might be interesting, but the current guidelines require two people seated side by side. This means that many of the trike variants are already out of the race because the passenger is positioned behind the driver. Still, since the alternative class would include trikes (which are generally regulated as motorcycles) you might be able to get a street legal vehicle out of it. Maybe. Unfortunately my idea of a modern Messerschmitt KR200 won't work because of the seating arrangement.