When you name a custom built vehicle Eleanor, it better be good. It better be
really good. But in fairness, the machine concocted by
MIT's Solar Electric Vehicle Team is actually one of the more stellar creations we've seen on wheels. The newest iteration is a touch taller than prior versions and should be more comfortable to operate. Additionally, designers managed to increase the frontal area by 30 percent, all while keeping the drag area exactly the same. The juice comes from six square meters of monocrystalline silicon
solar cells, and reportedly, the car can run all day long (providing the sun shines brightly the entire time) at a steady speed of 55 miles per hour. Eleanor will be competing later this year in the World Solar Challenge in Australia, and in preparation, the team is hoping to drive it across America this summer. So yeah, if you've ever wanted a summer to try hitchhiking, this would be it.
[Via
Wired]
posted March 1st 2009 12:23AM
Wasn't Eleanor the name of the Shelby in Gone in 60 seconds?
Random question, What font do you use Engadget?
soo where do mosquitoes go during the day??
@ LC
Yes! That's my favorite movie ever... I'm guessing that is what they are referring to, haha.
According to their stylesheet, Arial?
I think what CT A is asking is what font does engadget use for their logo. I may be wrong tho.
Yea it was and they totally shouldn't have used Eleanor for this. I don't care how cool it is technologically, it is not Mustang cool, no matter which movie you go by (the original with the '73 Mach 1 or the '00 "remake" where they used the '67 Shelby GT500 redesigned by Chip Foose)
I thought this was just another never see production ugly prototype... untils I read that it's quite a bit taller... changes everything
I think you meant "boldly"
No, they're just being very bod about it.
Hmm... they can't be wrong. The title is even emphasised by making bodly bold.
;)
i'm wondering why they haven't fixed that yet.
Someone ordered an airplane with wings on the side, no flying, and some solar panels on top?
Order up!
This would be pointless in Portland, Oregon cause it like rains here every day.
It would be very useful in San Antonio, Texas because it _NEVER_ rains. Okay, I overstated that a bit. It rains about once a month here.
it hasn't rained here in adelaide, australia for like over 4 months… quit ur complaining. haha
maybe that's why the solar race always finishes here.
Oh, go cry yourself to sleep. It rains in Portland on average 151 days a year, which if you're playing along at home, is less than half. When you're finished crying move to sunny Hilo, HI where it really does rain almost every day. And don't come back.
Hey! We don't need any more Oregon hippie immigrants in Hilo!
@Super Haole That's the greatest handle ever. Super Haole FTW
Well, since 55 MPH for approximately 12 hours (assuming there is 12 hours of daylight bright enough to run this) is about 660 miles. I'm guessing they could put some batteries in this and get at least a 300 mile range out of a day's charge. They say the average American drives less than 40 miles a day round-trip to work. This means it would have to be sunny only 1 day a week to run this car. The rest of the time I'm sure someone can cook up a little solution where you can leave this sitting in your driveway and have it send the extra generated electricity to your house to reduce your electricity bill. Sweet.
they already made one back in like 2004 or 5
Try 1987.
It looks like MIT took their ideas from GM's Sunraycer which won the 1987 solar races.
http://www.speedace.info/sunraycer_general_motors.htm
Good luck to them!
If anyone is interested in the hitchhiking idea please be aware that many states have laws that read as follows:
"(1) No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride."
or
"(a) No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride from the driver of any vehicle."
That's why you stand on the side of the road. Please be aware that my law is as follows:
"(a) No person shall stand in a roadway else they shall be roadkill."
If anyone is interested in the hitchhiking idea, please be aware that these kinds of vehicles take one passenger (driver), and the driver's height is usually subject to severe restrictions.
A comparison to the Midnight Sun car might be appreciated. They did a loop around America a couple of years back, including the Northwest.
No hitchhiking? Land of the Free, home of the Brave. Oh, the irony.
Looks very similar to my schools solar car. (Missouri S&T) with an estimated top speed of 80 miles per hour.
Check it out if you want, its kinda cool.
http://solarcar.mst.edu/what_is_car/
yeah, but yours isn't called Eleanor. so it sucks.
I go to MST too, and I am quite sure that our car could kill Eleanor, even though our budget for the entire car was probably as much as MIT spent on the wheels for their car.
@Zelatio: 80 mph < 90 mph. With math skills like that, it's no wonder your car finished almost 30 hours behind the winner of the 2008 North American Solar Challenge.
@las3rjock
It seems that math skills are not required at all. My college's team has included social science and fine art majors. This year's electrical team leader is a Business Administration major. We don't even have an engineering department, but we came in 2nd place in the 2008 NASC, 20 hours ahead of MST. I seem to recall beating MIT in the past as well. Funny, I don't remember Engadget reporting anything about that. To be fair though, MIT has lots of geek ‘cred. This article seems to be about the name of the car more than anything else. Our car is named RA. Apparently not cool enough.
I care.
So its a stealth car right? I mean all it needs is the radar absorbing paint and its ready to go. :P
Stealth car? This looks like Darkwing Duck's plane. I think I even see Launchpad McQuack in the driver's seat.
@ AMiSH PiRATE: I am the terror that flaps in the night. . . I am the rainy day that ruins your solar powered race. . . I AM DARKWING DUCK!
I love it...in mind, bodly and spirit.
They named it Eleanor after America's first first-man...Eleanor Roosevelt.
F.D.R could've done better.
Hopefully with this car, they will bodly go where no man has gone before !
will this car go bodly where no man... DAMN YOU HAMIDXA!!!
what i meant to say was... i bet you some jagoff will use that line from star trek!.... pshhhh
A lot of Universities have solar car's. In Ontario, Canada: Queens, McMaster, UWaterloo, and I think UToronto have them...
notnews
The story isn't that they developed a solar car, it's how awesome the solar car they developed is.
@Matt: if that's the case, I hope that in a few months they mention the new car of the Nuon Solar Team of the Univ. of Deft in The Netherlands. Their car won the last 4 World Solar Challenges, ever since they started participating in it. Imho, THAT is more awesome. For the record, the MIT car has only been on a 3rd place in 2005.
This is only news cause it's name is the one of an unicorn; Eleanor.
The MIT car is still fundamentally the same design universities have been building for over 10 years. It doesn't seem newsworthy.
like a spacesuttle. this summer!! Across!!
Wow, the first Lord of the ring solar car!!
I so wanna see gandalf ride it beard in the wind...
YOU... SHALL NOT... GAS !!!!!!
Sorry...to late....my bad.
....Rigby?