1,300 MPG student designed Ultra-Light car runs on a tiny lawn mower engine (VID)

a reply to: DjembeJedi

So you think a car that shuts off is a first step? This means that they aren't getting 2,000 miles per gallon...They are getting however miles per gallon it takes to get to speed before it shuts off....This is not feasible when driving up a hill or on the highway anywhere on earth...This is a joke IMO!

The first step was LAST YEAR when they got over 1,100 miles per gallon...Then they do some adjustments and weight modifications so they can shoot for an engine that shuts off so they can get 2,000 miles per gallon....

Your electric car doesn't compare at all IMO based on your argument because they engine stays running and is an advancement of something from a couple centuries prior....They took a basic idea and made it better....How would someone make a lawnmower engine that shuts off to glide better? I guess by better I mean advance this into something that stays running and people can actually use? Oh that's right, they can't! This is because this idea is dumb...Maybe a decent idea if you are testing on a track and something that doesn't apply to every day life, but for realistic world use, the idea is no good!

Electric cars wont takeoff till they miniturize the fusion reactors Skunkworks is developing. When they finally come out(after the car companies and oil companies get set for the turn over to hydrogen production) then you will have soem truly great cars.

The hybrids these days are neat, but the average commuter won't ever see 100mpg- certainly not in america.

The reasons for this are many, but a few of them are easy to spot.

A VW golf- pretty typical car on the road these days... is over 4,000lbs. The same car in the 80's was about half that.

We don't embrace small efficient diesel engines- a much more energy rich fuel source.

We put ethanol in our gasoline- which burns hotter and slower, giving us less fuel efficiency per gallon.

originally posted by: lordcomac

We put ethanol in our gasoline- which burns hotter and slower, giving us less fuel efficiency per gallon.

Actually, if the car is properly tuned for it, it will make a substantial bit more power off of E85 than it would off of gasoline.

They should stop wasting money and have a contest to design an actual usable car.

To make this viable for commuting, you would need
to make special smooth level roads for it...Oh wait,

Thats called light rail!