at this point. At the moment, as stated in the heading of the blog, we plan to do a number of small modifications to the car to improve the fuel consumption of Ewvee a little bit at a time. Before we do those modifications, though, we will catalogue the state of the car as it is right now: we will calculate its general efficiency, determine problem areas in the car, weigh the car (of course taking into account the amount of gas in it), etc.
In the long term (which of course depends on how quickly we make the minor modifications) we have narrowed the possible directions of the project to the following:
Gas: This is where Ewvee will be after the initial modifications. We hope to see significant improvement in fuel efficiency through weight reduction, lowering, and maybe even custom-fabricated aerodynamic parts (in addition to the other modifications mentioned in the header).
Hybrid: This would be a series hybrid, a gas or diesel engine powering an electric motor. Though some new, non-consumer vehicles use diesel motors to provide energy to electric motors, no one before has pursued a basic series hybrid using a diesel engine in an ordinary vehicle (as far as we know).
Bio-Diesel: If we swapped the current engine for a diesel one this modification would be relatively simple. It would allow Ewvee to run off of not only gas station diesel, but grease from our dining hall, from local fast food restaurants, etc. We could possibly incorporate this into a diesel hybrid, creating a singularly unique vehicle (if not one that can be entirely replicated due to the inevitable shortage of grease if too many bio-diesel cars are on the road).
Natural Gas: One possibility, with the ubiquity of natural gas in America, is converting the engine to run off of natural gas. This would not greatly increase efficiency, but it would lower emissions, be cheaper, and reduce dependence on foreign oil entirely.
Stay tuned.
