today at the Lacey (WA) Alternative Fuel Fair and Electric Car Rally there was a hypermile event held. its a 100 mile course with the objective of getting the highest mileage above the EPA. well, guess what won?? a Diesel Smart Car!! didnt know they had them here (apparently there is 16 in the US and this entry is probably for publicity purposes) but its rated at 63 MPG and won the "race" achieving 163% of its EPA rating.
We had a smart a few years back. nice little car, but it is that, little. made a very good second/commuter car.
No, it's not. But the Prius is not an alternative fuel vehicle either, and the fair welcomes Priuses, and even gives them their own display area. That's where I met Dave and his GF, a few years back. The coolest things were two easy-chair EVs. People take an easy chair, mount it on wheels, and add batteries and a motor. They're not street-legal, but they're cool.
This post needs no written words OR sound: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s]YouTube - smart car crash[/ame]
Regarding the crash test video above: Sean Rarey, who sold Allan and me our Zap Xebras, is a county sheriff. He sees a lot of accidents, and says that what kills is speed. This agrees with what was said in the video. And is a good argument for limiting speed on highways.
to make it a "fair fight" only the official EPA figures were used. so it did not matter what class you were in, only how much better can do over the EPA rating. although the winner did over 100 mpg, if a full size pickup rated at 15 mpg would have average 28 mpg, it would have won. daniel; you should try to make it over for another show. there were several other exhibits to look at. tons of solar water heaters, etc. but also personal windmill options. so great info available. but also the DIY'ers with the world famous "Cloud EV" built on a Geo Metro chassis. you want an EV that gets over 100 miles on a charge. here is one and it will definitely turn heads!!
