Over the past few days I have witnessed a seven-cent drop in gas prices in Raleigh, NC and as encouraging as that is for the future of the economy, $3.93 per gallon is still quite a hefty price to be paying for filling a tank of gas. This is where the X Prize factors in. What better way to motivate people to conceptualize a better fuel-efficient car than by dangling a 10$ million dollar prize in front of them?

According to a recent article, more than 60 teams from all over the world have come to try their luck in the Progressive Automotive X Prize Competition, which challenges competitors to create an entirely new, original, and functional green supercar that smashes previous records for fuel efficiency. The goal, according to Peter Diamnadis, chief executive of the foundation is to create a car that is able to get at least 100 miles to the gallon and can actually be brought to the consumer market. So how will the functionality of these newly designed cars be measured you ask? Well in late 2009, the qualifiers will embark on a stage race across the United States, which will test how well the vehicles perform in the areas of speed, and how far they can travel. Competitors will also be judged on how well their cars hold up in certain traffic and weather/road conditions.

The ingenuity behind this project truly is fascinating, and according to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it’s also necessary.

“We desperately need cars that are clean and efficient and safe and attractive to everyday buyers.”

And he’s absolutely right. Judging from the instability of the fuel economy at the moment, the X Prize competition came at the perfect time and may just be the answer to all of our prayers in regards to high gas pricing woes. For the winner, designing a highly fuel-efficient car will be an amazing accomplishment, but let’s not beat around the bush; taking home that 10$ million dollar check won’t too bad either. For these car enthusiast competitors however, it’s all in a day’s work.

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Tags: Auto News, General Auto, events //