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Events
July 30, 2010 On July 28, Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE teams spent the better portion of the day loading and transporting their vehicles from Michigan International Speedway to Chrysler’s Proving Grounds in Chelsea, a short distance away. Since then, all vehicles that advanced to the Validation Stage (the last and final hurdle toward the $10 million purse) were put through a Coast Down exercise, which involved test engineers accelerating each vehicle up to approximately 70mph on a 2.25 mile long, level paved roadway and then “coasting” them in neutral until they come to a stop, unassisted by brakes. The exercise provides a few key metrics that are required for Validation Testing on the chassis dynamometers at Argonne National Lab facilities located just outside Chicago:
Day 1 of Coast Down weather proved less than ideal, so Chrysler test engineers made the best of it by rigging up the vehicles with the needed instrumentation and training Chrysler’s professional drivers to handle the vehicles. Thankfully, the weather on Day 2 proved ideal, and teams RaceAbout Association, Li-Ion Motors, ZAP, and Aptera wrapped up under sunny skies and little wind without incident. All four vehicles were shipped off early the following morning on a hauler to arrive at Argonne National Lab for Validation testing. The fact that the Edison2 vehicles employ sequential transmissions may have contributed to the unintended downshift and subsequent mechanical over-rev condition that damaged the engines. In a typical racing configuration, the driver pulls rearword on the shift lever to shift up through the gears. This is opposite the convention used by many US automakers in their semi-automatic transmissions (like Chrysler's AutoStick), where manual upshifting is executed by pushing forward, away from the driver. Further, given that this is a competition vehicle, the automated software that would normally override an unintended downshift at speed or at high RPM is not yet perfected. Coast Down data was ultimately obtained for the Edison2 vehicles, and the tests were completed successfully. Both X-Tracer and TW4XP successfully completed Coast Down as well. And so the week ended not without incident, but with a bit of determination and resourcefulness. All of the finalist vehicles have safely arrived at Argonne’s facilities for Validation. Testing began Tuesday, August 3rd, and will continue throughout the month of August. Since the Edison2 engines require costly repairs due to damage that was no fault of their own, and because the timing of these repairs presents substantial schedule challenges, competition officials have agreed to review objective third-party dynamometer results on Edison2’s vehicles to determine whether the data can be accepted in lieu of Validation Testing at Argonne National Lab. Until this determination is made, Edison2 will be granted a waiver that releases the team from the requirement to present their vehicles at Argonne for Validation Stage testing.
April 29, 2010 The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE announced the Finalist teams that survived all on-track testing at Michigan International Speedway (MIS), and who moved into the Validation stage. What began as a field of 136 vehicles from 111 teams was narrowed to an elite group of nine vehicles from just seven teams that have proven they can meet the strictest requirements of this competition, including the ability to achieve at least 90 MPGe on the way toward the ultimate 100 MPGe requirement and to survive grueling dynamic safety and range tests. Finalists were required to pass a repeat of technical inspections and on-track Efficiency, Range and Dynamic Safety events conducted by the competition’s technical team and auto test engineers from partner Consumer Reports. Watch a video from the Finals Stage here.
June 29, 2010 The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE concluded its Knockout Qualifying Stage on June 29. At the end of day Tuesday, June 29, 15 of the original 26 vehicles from 12 of the original 21 teams that started Knockout testing had passed the necessary range and dynamic stability tests overseen by the competition’s testing partner, Consumer Reports. The remaining vehicles – two in the Mainstream class and 13 in the Alternative class – proceeded to the Finals Stage July 19-30 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS). During Knockout, competitor vehicles had to pass a repeat of technical inspections and on-track safety tests featured in the first stage of testing – the Shakedown Stage— which took place in May. Vehicles also had to complete emissions, efficiency, and range events in which they had to achieve at least two-thirds the minimum fuel economy and range requirements. For fuel economy, this translates to at least 67 MPGe, or two-thirds of the 100 MPGe target for both vehicle classes. For emissions, vehicles had to meet the minimum US EPA emissions standards in on-track challenges. For range, vehicles had to reach a minimum of 134 miles for Mainstream class entries (200 miles range required at the Finals Stage) and 67 miles for the Alternative class (100 miles range required at the Finals Stage). Video from the Knockout stage is available on our YouTube page.
June 26-27, 2010 The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE showcased several competitor vehicles at the Great Lakes Wine Festival June 26-27 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn, Mich. Festival attendees had the opportunity to meet the teams, hear their stories and see the vehicles and technologies that will shape the future of the automotive industry. In addition, competition officials were on hand to explain how teams must demonstrate their vehicles are safe, efficient and able to achieve 100 MPGe (miles per gallon or the energy equivalent). Competition vehicles were on display throughout the festival, which offered attendees two full days of live entertainment, educational seminars and beer, wine and food sampling from Michigan-based vendors.
April 29, 2010 The Progressive Insurance Automotive X celebrated the start of on-track competition events at a public ceremony at Michigan’s state capitol in Lansing on April 29th. The event was held with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and showcased several of the competing vehicles alongside Michigan officials and notable auto industry, business, and government leaders and representatives. Speakers included: Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, The X PRIZE Foundation; Greg Main, President and CEO, Michigan Economic Development Center (MEDC); Roger Curtis, President, Michigan International Speedway (MIS) and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Video highlights for this event are available here. Watch a video blog from Peter Diamandis at the Lansing State Capitol here.
April 26-May 7, 2010 Twenty-eight teams, representing 36 super fuel efficient vehicles from across the globe arrived at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn, MI to officially start on-track performance testing for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. Established automakers, start-ups, universities, inventors, and even a high school were among the diverse groups of teams representing 14 U.S. states and nine countries. Click here to view video from Shakedown.
January 12, 2010
Five teams (Edison2, Saba Motors, SSI-Racing Team EVI and ZAP) from the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE were on display in Electric Avenue at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI.
The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE announced at the 34th Annual North American International Auto Show that the state of Michigan was chosen to host the intense multi-stage competition aimed to pit some of the world’s most fuel efficient vehicles against one another in a quest to win their share of a $10 million prize purse. Fifty-one super efficient cars from 41 teams survived the rigorous design judging phase and now aim to ready their vehicles for the start of on-track performance events in the spring of 2010, thanks to a unique new partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan International Speedway (MIS). The series of scored performance and evaluation events kick off April 26, 2010 and continues through the end of August 2010. During this time, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE will conduct several closed door competition stages aimed at evaluating the efficiency, safety and performance of each competition vehicle under real world conditions. Watch highlights from our trip to NAIAS:
November 2-5, 2009
The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE conducted its first technical team summit as part of the 2009 SEMA show. Members from 42 Qualified Team, representing 17 U.S. states and 10 countries gathered for technical briefings at the annual automotive specialty products trade event held in Las Vegas. Along with business networking opportunities, teams had the chance to meet the competition organizers, sponsors and judges. Twelve competing vehicles were also on display including Amp, Aptera, Commuter Cars, Edison2, Future Vehicle Technologies, Global-E, OptaMotive, SABA Motors, Team EVI, Team EVX, Team HydroPhi, and ZAP. While at SEMA the X PRIZE Foundation also announced news of a $5.5 million award from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE funding will provide for technical expertise that ensures each vehicle design is reviewed correctly and consistently. Funding will also support expanded outreach and education efforts that will focus on promoting public awareness of the science and engineering behind energy efficient vehicle designs. Watch highlights of the first Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Team Summit:
October 19th, 2009
The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE announced 43 teams— representing 18 states, 10 countries and 6 fuel types, that passed the competition’s Design Judging phase and moved into the next phase of the competition – performance and safety testing –putting them one step closer to their share of the $10 million prize purse. Also at the event, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE formally opened registration for a national high school contest, funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant. The contest, called DASH+, challenges students to work together using creativity, design, and math and science skills to develop new gauges, instruments and interfaces to create the “Dashboard of the Future” which will support behavior change to help drivers maximize fuel efficiency and reduce environmental impact. The announcement was made at Manhattan’s Classic Car Club, and featured Dr. Peter Diamandis, X PRIZE CEO and Chairman; Glenn Renwick, President and CEO of Progressive Insurance; Connie Bezanson, Lead Engineer, Program Planning, U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Vehicle Technologies; and Dale Fulton, Senior Vice President for Curriculum Development at Discovery Education; along with a number of the qualified teams and their vehicles and the first high school teams to register for the complementary student contest. Watch highlights from this event:
January 11, 2009 Today at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE announced details of a Demonstration Division designed specifically for large, established automobile manufacturers. The newly formed Demonstration Division, distinct from the existing Competition Division, is intended to showcase high-efficiency vehicles from established automakers that are already selling fully validated, four-wheel vehicles in the U.S. or E.U. at quantities greater than 10,000 per year, and have been doing so since 2005. Such companies may enter efficient Mainstream Class vehicles that are either in production or committed for production and sale in the U.S. or E.U. prior to the end of 2012. CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATE ON THE DEMONSTRATION DIVISION To date the competition now has more than 20 fully Registered Teams as well as more than 120 companies and individuals from 17 countries and 28 States who have signed letters of intent to participate. “We believe that this new Division provides an ideal platform for major automakers in the U.S. and E.U. to promote their latest fuel efficient vehicles and we hope this announcement sparks new entries into the competition,” noted Peter Diamandis, President and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation. Watch highlights from our trip to NAIAS:
 Progressive Automotive X PRIZE at New York International Auto Show March 20, 2008 Watch Part One of the announcement press conference.
See Jay Leno's Support of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. The newly renamed Progressive Automotive X PRIZE is an international competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles. The independent and technology-neutral competition is open to teams from around the world that can design, build and bring to market 100 MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles that people want to buy, and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance. The Department of Energy announced a partnership with the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE to inspire youth and the general public about the alternative vehicle and fuel options of the near future. The two organizations plan to create a national education program that will encourage young people to pursue careers in energy-efficient sciences and technology. The U.S. Department of Energy plans to provide an up to $3.5 million USD grant to fund this program, subject to appropriation from Congress. Also at the announcement were four teams and their vehicles, joined byrepresentatives of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was also on hand in support of the initiative. “The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE is an excellent example of how the private sector can spur solutions to our most complex challenges,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Here in New York City, we are also stepping up to the plate on energy conservation, by transforming our taxi fleet into hybrids and cutting the City’s energy use by 30% over the next ten years. It’s all part of PlaNYC, our plan to create a greener, greater New York.”
The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE on the Today Show March 20, 2008 New York, NY Automotive X PRIZE at North America International Auto Show January 13-17, 2008 Detroit, MI The Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) showcased the innovations of its early entrants at their booth during the show’s Press Preview and Industry Days. The prize team also released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to U.S. cities interested in hosting a stage of the 2009-2010 race competition.
AXP booth at the Detroit Auto Show
AXP team at NAIAS 2008
Automotive X PRIZE Senior Director Delivers Keynote Address at EVS 23 December 5, 2007 Anaheim, CA Automotive X PRIZE Senior Director Cristin Lindsay delivered the keynote address during the closing plenary session of EVS 23 (the International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition). Click here for the full text of her remarks.
SAE Southern California Section Sponsors Live Automotive X PRIZE Webcast March 28th, 2007 Pasadena, CA The SAE Southern California Section is sponsored a live Webcast on the Automotive X PRIZE. The Automotive X PRIZE team discussed the benefits and goals of this multi-million dollar contest, and gave attendees a sneak peek at the draft competition structure and rules. A recording of the 1 hour webcast is available. (Powered by Adobe®)
Automotive X PRIZE Hosts Energy Equivalence and Emissions Working Group February 9th, 2007 Pasadena, CA After a year of extensive research and hundreds of conversations with automotive industry experts, we have arrived at a framework for the competition and are now convening a few working groups on issues of energy equivalency and emissions, on course design, on manufacturability, etc. These sessions are intended to draw out the opinions of the smartest people in their respective fields in order to help us fashion the final rules for this grand competition. On February 9, we convened the first of our working groups, one focused on Energy Equivalence and Emissions. The task was to bring together the smartest and most experienced people with expertise in these subjects to give us guidance and feedback on this challenging topic. Our mission is to create a level playing field, so that EVs can compete with hydrogen, diesel, gasoline, biodiesel, and all the various forms of hybridized power trains (and everything in between)...if that's possible. The day was productive and successful. The attendees were marvelous: truly experts and not shy about sharing their opinions. Many were surprised that the reasoned debate drew us closer to consensus and that several minds were even changed during the day! We truly appreciate the generous time and effort spent on this process by all of the attendees.
(Click for Larger Image) Pictured: (Back Row, Left to Right) Spencer Quong, Paul Wennberg, Alex Sessions, Nancy Hazard, Ian Wright, Michael Wang, Alec Brooks, Axel Friedrich, Ben Knight, Michael Arny, Jeff Alson, Jesse Berst, Jane Long, Feng An, John Voelcker, (middle row, left to right) Jeff Ronning, Kate Zyla, Fujio Takimoto, Steve Gurski, Gale Banks, Luke Tonachel, Andre Brown, (front row, left to right) John Shore, Neal Anderson, Mark Goodstein, Cristin Lindsay, Kristin Maschka Automotive X PRIZE Energy Equivalence and Emissions Working Group Attendees:
U.S. Department of Energy Supports Automotive X PRIZE January 23rd, 2007 Washington, DC Excerpt from a speech by Andrew Karsner, U.S. DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, at the 2007 Washington Auto Show: <!-- Automotive X PRIZE Brainstorm Session July 12th, 2006 Pasadena, CA The Automotive X PRIZE hosted a brainstorm session to analyze the most challenging issues the prize presents, and to evaluate potential competition rules and structures. World-class attendees from all sides of the spectrum - auto manufacturing, design, regulatory, environmental, media, scientific & government - volunteered their time to weigh in on the effort and to offer solutions. Key issues on the table included prototype manufacturability, criteria for winning the prize, energy equivalency, figures of merit, boundary conditions, the role of auto manufacturers and more. The day was an overwhelming success, netting valuable insight, scrutiny and buy-in to the X PRIZE's approach to crafting the competition. 
(Click for Larger Image) Pictured: (Back Row, Left to Right) Geoff Wardle, David Wagner, Don Foley, Chris Grundler, Dave Moore, Martin Eberhard, Marques McCammon, Glenn Mercer, Norm Meyrowitz, Catherine Lutz-Houlden, Eric Adams, Barry Layne, Roland Hwang, Karina Drees, Michael Lindsay, Paul Cusack, (Middle Row, Left to Right) Kristin Maschka, Stephanie LaCrosse, Peter Diamandis, Willam McDonough, Jan-Olaf Willums, Shannon Eddy, S.M. Shahed, Richard Newell, Phil Recht, Ben Knight, Ron York, Vijay Vaitheeswaran, (Bottom Row, Left to Right) Andrew Friendly, Bibi Karsai, Elyssa Elbaz, Neal Anderson, John Shore, Cristin Lindsay, Mark Goodstein, Bill Gross, John Boesel, and Alex Sessions Automotive X PRIZE Brainstorm Attendees:
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