Tenn. professor cruises cross-country on 2.15 gallons of gas

Tenn. professor cruises cross-country on 2.15 gallons of gas

www.usatoday.com

Ricketts, a Middle Tennessee State University professor, and his eight-member support team drove three Toyota hybrid alternative-fuels vehicles approximately 2,582 miles across country, using only about 2.15 gallons of fuel — much less than his 10-gallon goal —purchased at the gas pump, according to an MTSU news release.

In the first 900 miles, zero gas was used, Ricketts said, adding that other fuel sources were solar (the sun), electric, ethanol and hydrogen from water.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Looks like he plans to make another coast-to-coast trip in 2013, using sun and water. These upgrades don't seem particularly hard to add. I wish someone would manufacture a line of products, then it would be really easy. But when will someone be able to do this without risking their life? I'm not far from MTSU, in fact my brother attends there. I might contact this guy and see if he can "fix up my lawn mowa." Haha


www.usatoday.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Expect him to be convicted of child porn or death by a rattlesnake, or suicide with double GSW to head.

Well actually, we have to have no fear, and do this in every community and export fully active grass root cells of energy to free the world, everywhere, in back yard garages, olderly folk teaching the young on the weekend, and if the power goes out THIS WILL BE DONE.

We have the blueprints, and the every region is filled with spare garages, tools and tradesmen.

Just saying. People pull together.

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


Surely I will hear about it if he does. We'll have to wait and see if he gets to make the 2013 trip. I better take my lawn mowa to him sooner than later.

reply to post by FelixFelicis


Well we better find out all about this guy before he ends up missing or having some kind of "heart attach" lol


The professional beet me too it....but i still feel the same way. Your deaths were funnier...wish i woulda thought of that =[

reply to post by FelixFelicis


This looks like really good news. We know the technologies exist, will we be allowed to use them on a mass scale? The next trick is to get these alternative vehicles affordable to most.

I'm afraid the oil companies are going to squeeze every last drop of profit out of us before these technologies become available to the masses (us).

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


why will we expect him to be convicted of anything? i don't see why everything someone does should then be turned into a conspiracy that the government will commit

reply to post by FelixFelicis

These upgrades don't seem particularly hard to add.

What upgrades? The article made no mention of the car's specific modifications.

reply to post by caf1550


Because this man is showing the world that technology exists which will stop the moneyflow into oil companies pockets. He will be killed before that is allowed to happen.

Although as a mechanic, I must point out that this isn't feasible for almost all of us. The modifications to the vehicles to allow them to run on such a broad range of fuels is not cheap, at all.

Originally posted by AuranVector
reply to post by FelixFelicis

 

This looks like really good news. We know the technologies exist, will we be allowed to use them on a mass scale? The next trick is to get these alternative vehicles affordable to most.

I'm afraid the oil companies are going to squeeze every last drop of profit out of us before these technologies become available to the masses (us).

Purdue student engineers have designed a street-legal solar-powered commuter car that needs no gas. It can be plugged in to charge, but the solar panels generate so much electricity the car has enough juice to power an air conditioner and additional accessories.

Solar cars have been around for ages now, actually getting someone to drive one is another story.

The OP article is a lot of hot air because it gives absolutely no specifics to what was actually done to the car used in the trip.

Originally posted by boncho
reply to post by FelixFelicis

These upgrades don't seem particularly hard to add.

 

What upgrades? The article made no mention of the car's specific modifications.

In the first 900 miles, zero gas was used, Ricketts said, adding that other fuel sources were solar (the sun), electric, ethanol and hydrogen from water.

These don't come standard on a 1994, four-speed Toyota Tercel or an '05 Toyota Prius.

reply to post by boncho


I too would like to know the specifics, but I wouldn't expect to get them out of the news report.

reply to post by mattdel

Because this man is showing the world that technology exists which will stop the moneyflow into oil companies pockets. He will be killed before that is allowed to happen.

Are you serious?

Alternative energy technologies are everywhere in the science world. Peer reviewed papers outlining exactly how they work. Many scientists who published them are still alive and well today.

This was a news article that made no mention of how it was done, no link to a paper outlining if it was even a useful modification done to the car. Or if it was commercially feasible.

The oil companies have nothing to worry about.

On a side note, you can go buy a fully electric car today from Tesla motors for around 100k, around 40k to replace the battery if you let it drain completely by accident, and you might have to be on a waiting list for a few years because of development issues.

A few years ago, people said that company was going to "destroy big oil" too.

reply to post by mattdel


you gotta think though people already hate big oil because they way they gouge the average citizen with there cost of gas, people want an answer to big oil and this could be a great answer, a lot of people read USATODAY and probably followed this story

so you have to think that if something happened to this professor that a lot of people would be wondering why all of a sudden this happened, right after he made this trip, to much for big oil to risk in getting rid of this man

Originally posted by FelixFelicis
reply to post by boncho

 

I too would like to know the specifics, but I wouldn't expect to get them out of the news report.

No, but you would expect them to link a paper on the story page. Or at least do some journalism and ask relevant questions so they could be included in the story.

reply to post by FelixFelicis

In the first 900 miles, zero gas was used, Ricketts said, adding that other fuel sources were solar (the sun), electric, ethanol and hydrogen from water.

These don't come standard on a 1994, four-speed Toyota Tercel or an '05 Toyota Prius.

 

I guess you can tell us the energy input of each on the car used then? What exact modifications were needed, ie lithium ion battery cells, fuel tanks, weight reduction, etc.

reply to post by boncho


I'm looking for the details now. If you would like, you can too. If you find something report back. That's what these threads are for. Stop whining and spend your time usefully.

reply to post by mattdel


What people don't generally understand is what goes into these horse-and-pony shows of technology.

Take solar cars - something people 15-20 years ago were convinced indicated the "end of gas" was near. They are six-figure cars with solar arrays that rarely last past the competition and a few video-ops. The ultra-thin cells are easily broken by collisions with bugs, rocks, and other airborne debris encountered by vehicles on a daily basis. Even under protective epoxy coatings, it's not uncommon for the array to lose 20% or more of its effectiveness from damage (and that's including a number of heavy wiring schemes that prevent the failure of one cell from compromising a host of others).

Further, there is little/no suspension on the vehicles with very thin tires at a nominal 100+ PSI. There is little in the way of climate control (so it's hotter than all holy hell when these guys are driving for competition), and they are usually sitting in a seat that looks to be little different from an aluminum lawn chair welded to the chassis.

As if that's not enough - the art of driving a solar car is just as important as the design of the car. Acceleration is slow (as to be unusable in practical driving) and there are lead/chase vehicles that alert the driver to road conditions and work out the most efficient and practical approach to overcoming even simple challenges (such as turning from a highway onto a side-road - you want to be very careful when and how you apply brakes and change direction).

It's a very fine-tuned system that they use to shave off every watt of power consumption possible.

Applying what I know to this system - it's obvious they are using a host of different propulsion fuels/technologies. I would even have to say they are going to use this for research to discern what types of engines (or combinations of technologies) operate best under what road conditions.

They aren't putting 2.5 gallons of gas in their vehicle and going across the nation without help from some other source of power. With solar (charging and assisting a unified electrical system), it is possible - but you're looking at slow going (stopping to charge would be mandatory if you are driving anything remotely resembling a consumer automobile). Which is why the article makes mention of other fuels being used.

I think this is a classic case of the media attempting to turn a research project into something it isn't.

Your car in 5-10 years' time will still run off of gasoline (probably natural gas). It will probably not be a traditional ICE, however, and be some class of rotary or turbine engine. The vehicle's systems will all operate off of a single electric bus powered by a battery/capacitor buffered supply with multiple supply methods (including solar affixed to non-volatile locations on the car), but operational endurance will come from the vehicle's engine-turned generator.

The problem is that cars like that, now, will run you a #-ton of money and the batteries will need to be replaced in about 5 years (to preserve any advantages of letting it sit and charge in the yard or plugging it in during the evening hours). In 5-10 years, we should have some better battery and capacitor technology that keeps them running much longer and/or cuts the cost of manufacturing them significantly (100s of dollars instead of thousands).

reply to post by FelixFelicis


This doesn't seem like much of a feat?

He charged up before leaving, and he re-charged with electric at his stops. He used E-95 which is just another fuel source, and although it isn't a fossil fuel, it is a food-source reallocated away from starving people and instead used for western convenience.

Now, when he makes his 2013 trip using just the sun and water, that will be an accomplishment, but this one seems pretty mundane. Lots of people drive electric cars or flex-fuel cars, or hybrids.