[Capitalist]

WAUSEON - The sun hid behind the clouds and rain drops pounded the tent tops but nothing could keep away the curious crowd as former Van Wert resident Doug Pelmear and his company, HP2G, opened the first manufacturing facility for his revolutionary new motor.

The facility where the engines will be built is approximately 68,000 square feet and Pelmear said it will eventually house around 55 jobs once it is at full production. They plan on producing 500 motors in 2009. As was reported in the Times Bulletin in April, those engines will initially be used in the aftermarket. Revenge Designs of Decatur, Indiana has signed an agreement to be the exclusive certified installer of the Pelmear motor. They will begin with just a few centers but have plans for more than 1,500 nationwide.

Pelmear released more information about his invention during a press conference before the public address on Monday. As has been reported before, he has placed one of his motors inside a 1986 Ford Mustang, qualifying for the multi-million dollar first prize in the Progressive Automobile X Prize by averaging 110 miles per gallon. Pelmear quickly pointed out, however, that this is not some gas-sipping motor that will be impractical for general use. It performed at that mileage level while still producing 400 horsepower and 500 ft.-lbs of torque. He even ran the air conditioner while performing the tests.

While the E85-only engine was not on display for the general public, Pelmear did reveal that it was quite a bit smaller than the normal engine of today and only weighs about 200 pounds. He also showed the documentation that he had taken it to an Ohio EPA station last Friday for an emissions test. His emissions were half of the legal limit and that mark was achieved without a catalytic converter.

Pelmear is working on versions of the motor that could be used in heavy duty trucks and semi-tractors. His invention was also recently discussed in Department of Agriculture meetings as pertaining to tractors and combines.

As can be expected, Pelmear's invention has drawn the interest of many people. On hand on Monday was State Senator Steve Buehrer, a representative from U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown's office and numerous county and city officials from the area, including Van Wert County Commissioner Clair Dudgeon. They were all thrilled with the prospects of an Ohio entrepreneur succeeding in such an important industry to this part of the state.

"I just want to add my voice to what I'm sure the other officials are saying," said Buehrer. "We have a business starting on a day when at times we want to be overwhelmed with the bleak news of the economy and certainly the auto industry. This is an exciting opportunity for I think all of northwest Ohio."

Pelmear is in agreement which is one of the reasons why he has continually turned away major auto companies who have inquired about purchasing his technology. He said this way he knows the motor will make it to the market and be based out of Ohio.

"The best ideas don't mean anything without help," said Pelmear. "Obviously there are a lot of communities here. This about people banding together to make change."

Source

I hope this becomes a success but I'm not holding my breath.

[QatzelOk]

Oh good. We're saved.

**fills hybrid with hydrogen**

[Aekos]

This is great but I wonder why he has turned away "major car companies," the faster this technology spreads the better.

[Capitalist]

I doubt that they will make it spread faster. There have been many stories of car companies buying the rights to a fuel saving device with the promise of mass producing it but then shelving it. As I showed in a thread a few months ago the idea of making a high mileage is not impossible and has been known for years:

A car modified in 1973 that achieved 376 mpg

As to why the car companies would surpress these devices, who knows? Perhaps the engines last a lot longer so they wouldn't sell as many cars over extended periods of time compared to conventional technology. The same reason why toasters don't last 20 years - planned obsolescence. They could make cars with interchangable bodies using polymers as strong as steel in order to maintain revenue, which would be a win-win situation for the car and oil companies.

It won't surprise me if Pelmear has his lease cancelled on his factory for no particular reason or is accused of investment fraud or paedophilia or some other trumped-up charge that ruins him financially. It's happened before so, like I said, I'm not holding my breath.

[Capitalist]

It turns out that engine has electric motors integrated into it, hence the high torque and high mpg. The engine is to be used in a sport's car called the Revenge Verde.

[youtube]9dKlOCde4Vk[/youtube]

[Dave]

I'm skeptical. The engine seems to rely on three technologies to achieve its performance:

1) Cylinder deactivation and active fuel management.

This is a mature technology presently used by General Motors on some of its OHV V-8 engines, including all engines in the LS series (these power the Corvette). This is why a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with over 500 horsepower gets the same highway fuel economy as a Honda Civic.

2) Electromagnetic operation of the pistons.

This seems to rely on supplementary electromagnetic force to drive pistons which are already powered by a crankshaft. I do not see what possible benefit this could have as the electromagnetic force would have to come from the engine itself.

3) A brushless electric motor connected to the crankshaft.

This seems like a more efficient version of an alternator. Presumably the electric power generated is used to aid in the electromagnetic operation of the pistons...but this in turn requires the crankshaft to turn which drives the connecting rods to operate the pistons. It further would require a magnetic crankshaft, which would require other components of the engine to not be affected by magnetism. Does the crankshaft decouple from the connecting rods? Does the electric motor simply spin the crankshaft faster? This seems very dubious.

As for various extremely high mileage vehicles in the past, most depended on low-weight, extremely low-friction, controlled speeds, and heating of the engine. No breakthroughs.

There are technologies which can increase fuel economy considerably, for instance homogeneous charge compression ignition, but much in this field amounts to sorcery. I bet this is a GM LSx V-8 (even though the diagram shows an OHC engine) with some very questionable things attached to the crankshaft.