I've heard and read some information on inventors who created automobiles that ran upwards of 70+MPG and am wondering if anyone has any information on this topic that can be verified?
2006-12-13 22:43:31 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
There might be one or two, though none are sold in the US at present.
There have been urban legends about people who have invented "miracle" carburetors that gave 100 MPG on large American cars only to have the patents bought up and surpressed by the oil companies. (And at least one of them was proven to be outright fraud -- he had a Cadillac with fuel tanks integrated into the doors! He was very creative about concealing the additional fuel lines, I'll give him that much.)
That's pure bunk for a very simple reason. There isn't enough potential energy in a gallon of gasoline to move a full size sedan 100 miles on a gallon of gasoline, even if the conversion process were 100% efficient. The efficiency of internal combustion engines varies from about 25% to maybe 35%. The rest is lost as heat -- through the exhaust, cooling system, and as friction.
On top of that are the driveline friction losses (transmission, differential, bearings, tires, etc.) that can frequently add up to 50% of the power output from the engine.
It is probably possible to design a very tiny car that could get 70 MPG today -- engineering exercises have already exceeded that by a wide margine -- but most folks wouldn't want to drive it on a daily basis. Especially in the US. That might be appropriate for an urban runabout in some European cities but would never sell on US highways.
2006-12-13 22:54:41 · answer #1 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No vehicles, readily available for sale, get that kind of mileage. I live near Pittsburgh, PA a few summers ago, several Toyota Prius owners got together and did some test driving to see what actual mileage they could get. Using special driving techniques, they were able to average over 100 miles per gallon. One driver was stopped by police at 4:00 am. The police officer wanted to know why he was driving at 20 mph in a 35 mph zone.
2006-12-14 07:06:48 · answer #2 · answered by regerugged 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I watched a video the other day about a guy that got his 6cyl. car to run on water! I'm serious, he had his Taurus run several miles on like 5 oz. of water. I didn't believe it at first but it was on a news broadcast and then they said that he is designing Hummers for the military. Sorry I couldn't find the video.
2006-12-14 09:57:59 · answer #3 · answered by wesside145 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I remember reading somewhere about a 70+ vehicle that was a gas/electric that needed to b recharged, relying more on electric power than current hybrids
2006-12-14 08:00:01 · answer #4 · answered by White Lightning 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't know but if you find out then please be sure to let me know. that would be a life saver
2006-12-14 07:19:08 · answer #5 · answered by chrisarea_99 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋