Watch Out, X Prize Contestants, These High School Kids Are Winners - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

Watch Out, X Prize Contestants, These High School Kids Are Winners - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com 9/18/08 1:04 PMAll ClassifiedsSeptember 4, 2008, 10:16 amWatch Out, X Prize Contestants, These High School Kids AreWinnersBy Jim MotavalliWest Philly Hybrid Xteam at the Harley-Davidson Museum. The student team, led by physics teacher Simon Hauger, secondfrom left, is using a Buell motorcycle engine for its hybrid entrant in the Automotive X Prize. (West PhillyHybrid X Team)The Automotive X Prize has a rich $10 million purse, and that may be a powerful draw for many of theentrants, some of whom appear to be operating on a shoestring. All they have to do is come up withsomething that has so far eluded all the major automakers — a vehicle that can achieve the equivalent of100 miles a gallon. Then they simply need to make their car or truck safe and low-emission, and devise abusiness plan so it can be “production capable.”So far, 120 teams from 17 countries and 28 states have said they intend to compete. Some vehicles, like NeilYoung’s 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV convertible (the “Linc-Volt,” a biodiesel-based plug-in hybrid)don’t have much hope of winning the prize, but make excellent copy.http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/watch-out-x-prize-contestants-these-high-school-kids-are-winners/ Page 2 of 9Watch Out, X Prize Contestants, These High School Kids Are Winners - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com 9/18/08 1:04 PMOthers are considered leading contenders ...