MPGe to the Future!

What is the new term MPGe? It is a term to describe what the new innovating future of cars will be. The newest term MPGe simply is a way of telling a customer the electric energy being used the car equivalent to gas. What if you could buy a car that get 126 MPGe in the city? Mitsubishi will present their latest accomplished project called “Mitsubishi i”. The term MPGe does not settle with all science majors, because of measurement differences. But Margo Oge believes that it is easier for the public to relate to and understand. He says, “We had a lot of our technical people that were excited about using kilowatts per hour or per mile, but when you go and talk to the general public, they are very familiar with m.p.g. and they love m.p.g.” Of course this is what they are use to, and use to hearing. This was challenging to create a measurement that was familiar out of two sources of energy that have different unit measurements. They created the bridge when they discovered that one gallon of gas creates 115,000 of British termal units of HEAT. They ran a test to electricity to create the same amount, which turns out to be 34 kilowatt-hours. Even though you have you equivalent ways of measuring, gasoline and charging the car are not the same prices. To charge the car for 100 miles, if your paying 12 cents per kWh, which is average, will cost you $4.32. You can expect to pay 36 kWh times whatever your home electricity bill is. These nifty little cars are not expected to reach high retail numbers, but you can see as the world is being changed by upcoming innovation, cars will be challenged to become more fuel-efficient. Make sure to check out http://fueleconomy.gov/ For a better understanding this new technology.

Shannon Smits