Lowest Fuel Consumption Volkswagen's Car Set World Record

The world's most fuel efficient couple, John and Helen Taylor, have broken the current world record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States averaging 58.82 miles to the gallon. They ended their 20 day trip in West Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. To help them break the world record, they drove the all-new, 50-state-compliant clean diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI, fueled by Shell Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel under real world driving conditions, simply applying easy to use fuel saving tips and the latest efficient engine technology available for good clean diesel fun.


"We are very excited and grateful to have broken the current Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States," said Helen Taylor. "We would like to thank Volkswagen for providing us their new clean diesel Jetta that helped us get another World Record and to Shell for supplying the diesel fuel."





The previous Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive was 51.58 miles per gallon and the Taylors broke it by setting a new record of 58.82 miles per gallon, a whopping 14 percent improvement. In 20 days, driving across 48 states the Taylors drove 9,419 miles, exceeding 60 mpg on several legs of the record-setting run, spending only 6.9 cents per mile (total was $653).

"The terrain was very diverse, the weather less than ideal, and the traffic heavy at rush hour and the VW Jetta TDI handled it all beautifully, showing its fuel efficiency and its fun-to-drive dynamic capability, just two of this vehicle's many attributes," said John Taylor. "The car efficiently helped us to drive to a fuel economy world record."

People were encouraged to e-mail the Taylors along the way at: fuelacademy @ gmail.com with any questions they may have about the tour, the vehicle or about fuel economy tips and join their "Fan" page on Facebook.com. As of the end of the trip, more than 2,000 people have e-mailed the Taylors.

Approximately 12 official check-in and refueling stops across the country were included throughout the duration of the drive. The couple drove on a counter-clockwise route passing through: Washington D.C.; New York City, Rutland, Vermont; Toledo, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Spearfish, S.D.; Missoula, Mont.; Winnemucca, Nev.; Santa Monica, Calif.; Durango, Colo.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Mount Vernon, Ill.; Ponchatoula, La.; and, Beckley, W.V. Some of the fuel saving tips the Taylors advocate include: avoiding idling and higher speeds, minimizing vehicle drag and performing regular vehicle maintenance.

The Taylors have made a 26-year career out of driving economically and conducting workshops globally on fuel-efficient driving techniques. They have collected 82 world fuel economy and vehicle-related records from drives around the globe in Australia, Asia, South Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Source: World Amazing Records

Water Powered Car Demonstrated?

Denny Klein, an inventor from Florida, has introduced the world’s first water powered car. His own 1994 Ford Escort, labeled “Hydrogen Technology”, can run on a combination of water and gasoline, and Klein says it is possible to develop a system powered purely by water. The prototype is a hybrid car, shown to drive 100 miles using 4 ounces of water, without losing power. "You just drive it like a regular car. The infrastructure is already in place to get it serviced so we don't have to reinvent the wheel," Klein said.

Klein’s “Aquygen” is water or H2O broken down and turned into HHO gas – a process that scientists previously considered impossible to implement. A small device was demonstrated to emit a flame hotter than the surface of the Sun; A flame so intense it can burn a hole through charcoal and turn a brass ball to glowing liquid metal within seconds. While steel, lead, and other metals slice on contact, the tip of the welder remains only slightly warm to touch. Klein says that people don’t believe him, even though it’s a natural electrolysis process. It requires a greater amount of water than the amount of HHO gas produced, but the resulting gas combines the atomic power of hydrogen and the chemical stability of water. “No other gas will do this” –he says.
Klein and his colleagues are planning to provide a cheap, eco-friendly and practical alternative fuel, which will end the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. An engine that runs on a gasoline-water mix burns 50-percent less gasoline. "The way the water molecule is restructured, it releases a tremendous amount of energy when mixed with a catalyst. The Aquygen can easily be turned back into H2O” - said Klein as he pointed at drops of water running off a sheet of metal. A representative from Klein’s company said that the fuel production cost is estimated at around 70 cents per hour, with 1,500 liters of Aquygen produced in an hour.

Denny Klein and his water powered car - is it for real?

Denny Klein has patented the Aquygen generation process, and his invention is drawing attention worldwide – “Microsoft started from a small garage, why not Hydrogen technology?” - he laughs. Klein was recently invited by members of Congress to demonstrate his invention in Washington. It has been reported that his company is currently developing a gasoline-water hybrid Hummer for the US military.
The technology is still undergoing various government and independent tests, and company managers say it will be ready to hit the market in about 2 years. In response to the reports, many critics argued that the story is a complete hoax, saying that the energy required to convert H2O to HHO is greater than that provided by burning Aquygen. Others have raised concerns about the long term impact of such an energy source on the car engine.
In 1995, several shows aired a report about Stanley Meyer – an inventor from Ohio, who also claimed to invent a water fuel cell, which was demonstrated on his dune buggy, powered by water alone. Meyer passed away in 1998, and many say he received threats from oil companies and was poisoned after refusing to abandon his technology.

Source: The future of things