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Fuel Efficiency - the VW 1L, 110 MPG Mustang and the Impact of Biofuel on Food Prices

By crooky | July 7, 2008

A trio of articles caught my attention this weekend - all of them related to our obsession with high fuel efficiency vehicles that lower our impact on the environment. We’ll start with a follow up on the VW 1L, then a story about a suspicious highly efficient Mustang and finally an interesting statistic about biofuels.

1. Update on the 1L

Back in May, I introduced you to the Volkswagen 1L. I suspect that VW leaked the story to the mainstream media as an inexpensive tactic to gauge the marketability of the prototype. If that’s the case, it looks like they got a good response because they’re planning on putting out a limited number of these cars by 2010.

Volkswagen 1L

When I wrote about this in May, I reported that they would have production models out in 2010 but apparently they’ve gotten more official about it and have suggested that these cars will retail for about $30-45K. They’ve also decided to go with a 2 cylinder diesel motor instead of a one-cylinder motor.

We’ll see how the market responds when these things start hitting the market. I wouldn’t be surprized to see a few on the road here in Vancouver in 2010.

2. The 110 MPG Mustang

Another entrepreneur is claiming to have cracked the laws of physics and thermodynamics to bring us a car with an engine that is 640% more effient than the original. Wow! (SARCASM ALERT). See the video about this “amazing” discovery below:

Now, before you contact this individual to give him your life savings, let me recap the criticisms raised in the EcoModder article that first brought this “amazing” discovery to my attention:

- This car runs on the e85 flex fuel system which demonstrably decreases fuel economy from stock levels in most vehicles.

- He’s actually talking about Miles per Gallon Energy Equivalent MPGe which means the car doesn’t actually get 110 MPG but something far less than that.

- He’s claiming some crazy specs that defy the laws of physics and thermodynamics.

Two other things of note:

- One of the company founders just lost his job at a Ford factory and is probably desperate to try anything.

- The other guy on the video starts going into some crazy rant about how America should dictate gas prices that they’re going to pay to the market, not the other way around.

This whole concept/video depresses the hell out of me. I can’t go on with this section of the article.

3. Are Biofuels Driving Up Food Prices?

The Telegraph had an article today suggesting that biofuels (such as biodiesel based on refined plant materials) could be responsible for as much as 75% Of the increase in global food prices. Food prices have risen by 140% in the past six years and despite the US assertion that it is a hungry China that is driving up prices, a study by the World Bank puts the blame on corn and wheat-based ethanol production.

Never mind food prices, there is some talk that biofuels aren’t as good for the environment as old-fashioned fossil fuels once you account for the fuel used in producing these fuels.

You can argue that biofuels aren’t driving up food prices and they’re not hurting the environment but I believe that there has been enough contradictory evidence to warrant a more in-depth investigation of biofuels before we look to them to replace traditional fossil fuels.

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Aaron “Crooky” Cruikshank is the Principal and Founder of Friuch Consulting. He has written professionally about science and technology for ten years.

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Topics: Cars, Technology |

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