In this article posted on AOL October 13th 2007 it appears to me that something is a bit unusual.   There is a $10,000,000 offer to create and build a car that generates 100 MPH.  According to the article there are up to 36 interested parties who want to compete, however none of them are the large car manufacturers.  Something is "wrong" here.  Is the $10 million chump change for the automotive manufacturers or is it really not in their best interest to manufacture an automobile that gets 100 MPH?  If you know the answer please tell me.  Then there are the hypermilers which can get an astounding 100 MPH + with their cars.

Automotive X Prize was announced last year, the X Prize Foundation of Pasadena, Calif., has received letters of intent to compete from 36 teams and syndicates from the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Switzerland.

The competition for the $10 million-plus prize is not affiliated with any existing car company and is technology-neutral, which means that the judges aren’t concerned about how it works, whether diesel, electric, hybrid, solar, hydrogen or fuel cell, or any combination, only that it does work and is viable for production.

Interestingly, among those teams intending to compete, not one entry has been received from a major automaker, although fledgling electric sports car company Tesla, of San Carlos, Calif. has entered. Tesla says its two-seater pure electric sports car already gets the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon. Also included is fiberglass sports car pioneer Malcolm Bricklin and his Visionary Vehicles company. And so far, only one university team, from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., has signed up. The foundation says it has received more than 300 inquiries from groups around the world.