Detroit 2009: E85-powered Mustang, the HP2g, gearing up for the Auto X Prize
Posted Jan 23rd 2009 8:01PM by Sebastian Blanco

Click above for high-res gallery
Down in the basement (the smelly, smelly basement) of Cobo Hall at the Detroit Auto Show, we found Doug Pelmear and Jennifer Rodgers. They were sitting next to a car we didn't expect to see at the show, a 1987 Mustang. Why was the car there? Because Pelmear is still promoting his claim to get 110 mpge with the car and will be participating in the Progressive Automotive X Prize.
This Mustang is called the HP2g, and Pelmear told us that he and his team are gearing up for the business plan portion of the X Prize, specifically how they'd sell 10,000 units a year. The 110 mpge claim is also a bit difficult to nail down. Nowhere on the HP2g website or in the materials provided to us at the show is the number fullly explained; just that "Mileage performance verification by cross country road test in October/November, 2008." The best we can figure, as we noted when we wrote about this car before, is that Pelmear is only talking about the petroleum portion of the E85 fuel, and is somehow counting the ethanol as free energy. That may work for the headlines, but it won't win the AXP, which looks at all the energy that goes into the car. Still, Pelmear made it clear that he intends to win the popularity portion of the competition with his iconic ride. Good luck with that.
If you're in Detroit, the Mustang and all the other vehicles we talked about will be on display through the weekend. The show closes Sunday.
PRESS RELEASE:
HP2g (110 MPG Vehicle/Progressive Automotive X PRIZE Contender) To Exhibit at the 2009 North American International Auto Show January 11-25
Napoleon, OH January 7, 2009 ---- Horse Power Sales' 110 MPG (miles per gallon) vehicle, the HP2g, will be on display at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) at Detroit's Cobo Center in the Michigan Economic Development Corporation EcoXperience exhibit.
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), the most prestigious auto show in the world, providing unparalleled access to the automotive industry, will be opened to the press January 11-13 and to the public January 17-25 from 9am-10pm. For more information on the North American International Auto Show visit: www.naias.com
The HP2g is a revolutionary alternative energy solution that will reduce our reliance on foreign oil, keep our environment clean and create jobs in the automotive industry. The HP2g runs on E85, (a green alcohol-based fuel) that significantly reduces green house gas emissions. In testing, HP2g has exhibited ultra-high fuel economy and outstanding horsepower upon demand.
HP2g Specs:
- V8 Engine
- 400 HP (horsepower)
- 500 Ft. Lbs. Tq. (foot pounds of torque)
- 110 MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent)
- E-85 (ethanol fuel)
- Made in the USA
- Progressive Automotive X PRIZE Contender*

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
EV-1 11:25PM (1/23/2009)
Quote :
"The planet's ecosystem cannot support the projected 3 billion fossil fuel-dependent automobiles that are forecast by sometime around 2030, regardless of how clean or efficient the technology is likely to become. It just isn't going to happen. The only way forward is electric drive. "
- - from 'EV World' - 'Recession Won't Kill the Electric Car'
http://evworld.com/insider.cfm?year=8&nextedition=189#nice
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Don 2:43AM (1/24/2009)
"Pelmear is only talking about the petroleum portion of the E85 fuel, and is somehow counting the ethanol as free energy"
And how old is this gentleman again? That's an incredibly childish thing to do...does he really think anyone is going to buy that? He should check into a mental clinic.
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team HP2g 3:43PM (1/26/2009)
To reiterate the HP2g gets 110mpg. This is the total energy used not just gasoline seperated from alcohol. Again we are in a contest to show 100MPGe (total energy used).
huisj203 10:52AM (1/26/2009)
HP2g: What exactly is your formula for MPGe then? There's no patent on a math equation, so I don't think that's classified info.
And what's the simulation formula that came up with a 3 second 0-60 time (since in the video on your site I believe it said that time was from simulations, not actual testing)?
Willie 9:30PM (1/25/2009)
Anyone who comes up with a different approach to help solving a "CRISIS" is thought to need their head examined...The real problem is that they, those who'd think us as being out of our mind---they wished---those that are working in your same field of expertise---they wish they had had the knowledge that you have or could never have at any age---No they never will have it at any age...God's blessings upon you while you go for it guys and girls!!! They are the ones who've been entraped in their own little mind's...A Mental Clinic they need---not you two...Go for it "KIDS" because all it takes is one "GOOD" idea to emerge from all their spending Multi-Billion dollar "BAD" ones, to help so many "GOOD" person's...Saving even just a little bit of time & money while traveling too and fro in these New Age Days...Is a sure blessing in our everyday busy "BUSINESS" travellings all-the-while as we are living-out fully that "GOOD OLD" American Dream...Assuring us that this is all that will ever matter mostly to "EVERYONE" in our in GOD WE TRUST as it is imprinted on our United States Money---to be sure!!!
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Don 4:48PM (1/24/2009)
Willie, what the hell are you smoking, boy? Been listening a little Limbaugh lately?
Amen.
Noah Jones 9:32PM (2/18/2009)
Here is a interview I found online:
John McCulloch From Talk Radio 760 WJR AM Radio speaks with Doug Pelmear about his vehicle that is able to obtain 110 MPG.
(January 26) - John McCulloch speaks with Doug Pelmear, hp2g.com, about his vehicle that is able to obtain 110 MPG.
http://www.wjr.net/Article.asp?id=1128003&spid=6525
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A.J.Hank 10:24AM (3/02/2009)
In my opinion none of the vehicles that I've seen so far seem to be doing anything new.--- Maybe I'm wrong but they all, in one form or another, are simply rehashes of existing current technologies...
I've seen all these things before and they haven't solved anything...Perhaps the "new" entries will be better...
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Phil McGeehan, producer 2:19PM (4/22/2009)
Doug Pelmear interview w/Brian Wilson, Newstalk 1370 WSPD/Toledo: 4:30p 4/22
Podcast: http://wspd.com/pages/brianw.html
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Will Dz 2:37PM (6/01/2009)
It is very possible, I know for a fact, That old harley davidson
chopper builders in the 60's use to take the GM 350
and slice it into 4 sections making 4 v twin motors.
By making a crank and heads they would easily produce 100hp.
This was done by a carb. and not fuel injection.
Now , Take a 400 hp ford v8 with fuel injection
balanced to amazing standards, where more
of the centrifical force goes towards the spin and not the shake
The best coated parts, and bearings , synthetic oil
and a Cylinder Management System that makes it a V-Twin
on the highway . Finally, make it a powerstroke V Twin
where every rotation is a combustion stroke, Where traditionally
it is every other stroke is. And have a really good compression
release valve that eliminates air compression on unused cylinders
while in v twin powerstroke mode , Ill show you a car that gets 110
mpg, put 4 donut spare sized tires on and 120mpg no problem.
My hats off to this guy,
He knows what he is doing, and is smart not to show anyone
Edison
didn't show people his inventions until they were for sale and patented.
If my guess of this technology was close and you are hiring,
I need a job and probably could help you and this great invention
I hope you get the X prize, The USA really is lucky to still have
inventors that think outside of the box.
Only the vein are superficial and vein people buy things,
they don't invent anything
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maryyugo 2:28AM (6/03/2009)
From the X-prize rules:
"Energy Efficiency (Fuel Economy) – MPGe
Miles-per-gallon equivalent (MPGe) is a pump-to-wheels energy efficiency figure of merit measure that expresses fuel economy in terms of the energy content of a U.S. gallon of gasoline. Calculations are based on the energy equivalence of all fuel(s) consumed.
Basically we ask: how much energy was delivered to the vehicle, and how far did it go? We convert the energy to the number of gallons of gasoline containing equivalent energy, and we express the result as miles per gallon." See (PDF FILE):
http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/files/downloads/auto/PIAXP_Guidelines_V_1.0_20090110.pdf
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wtfrukiddingme 11:43AM (6/04/2009)
Ok, let see now. Call Jack Rousch and tell him you have a 1987 Mustang with 400HP 500TQ V8 that goes 0-60 in 4 seconds and gets 110mpg on E85 and watch him call 911 to have you taken to the funny farm. Also at 55mph it takes 2 hours to travel 110 miles and in that time a 400HP 500TQ V8 will use more than one gallon of E85 just at idle. WTF are YOU somoking ?
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Joeviocoe 7:17AM (6/07/2009)
Did some calculations of my own.
Go to http://hp2g.com/testdata.html
If you look at the data closely you will see that the prices reflect the price of E-85 fuel. Yet the amount filled seems way too low. Now, on a hunch (thanks autobloggreen) I put myself into the shoes of a scam-artist who would only report 15% of the actual amount of E-85 because I only think gasoline is worth counting.
I calculated that if I multiplied the reported amount filled by 6.67 then that would equal the actual amount before the 85% reduction. Behold!!! Doing the regular math of miles/gallons, it came out to a consistent 15.8 - 16 mpg.
EXACTLY WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT from a V8 4.3 liter 1987 mustang running on E-85 (which has a lower energy density than gasoline *but higher octane).
I feel like My Cousin Vinny!
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Joeviocoe 10:15AM (7/23/2009)
Yes, someone is being ripped off. The methodology is simple.
1) Make an outrageous claim at a time when the world needs so very much for it to be true.
2) Be ambiguous about the claim, so no one can directly dispute you and that unfounded, scientific techno babblers can have imaginations running wild to fill in the gaps of reality.
3) Claim the technology has been around for 60 years so that the conspiracy theory nuts can shout "suppression".
4) Talk more about the environmental and social implications than about the technology. So that every reporter salivates and publishes the story.
5) Never ask for money publicly. If you make your claims well, the investors come to you. A few, large investments are all you need. Patents cost tens of thousands of dollars.
6) Always claim that the full release of the technology is "just over the horizon" to spur investors into "hopping on a leaving train".
7) Quietly, fade off into obscurity. Claim some Big Oil company threatened you, or Auto X-Prize committee wanted to steal your technology.
Why have a real job when you can just work on and drive your Mustang all day and have people pay you for it.
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