Ford’s new solar powered concept car
Solar powered cars are here. Ford recently unveiled a new concept car that runs on solar energy. It’s called the C-MAX Solar Energi Concept and it’s quite possibly the car of the future. The C-MAX combines the best of hybrid technology with the latest innovations in solar energy to produce a vehicle that can run over 600 miles when fully charged.
The C-MAX offers many benefits. They include:
- It draws energy directly from the sun
- Never needs to be plugged in
- Goes over 600 miles on a full charge
- Uses a renewable power source
- It gets an EPA estimated 100 MPGe
- Can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions the average gasoline powered vehicle releases into the atmosphere by four metric tons each year
- Tracks the sun and amplifies its power
The C-MAX Solar Energi Concept car can run over 600 miles on a full charge
This innovative new vehicle is being developed by Ford with assistance from San Jose, California-based SunPower Corp. and Atlanta’s Georgia Institute of Technology. High-efficiency solar cells atop the C-MAX track the sun and a solar concentrator magnifies the energy captured from the sun’s rays up to 8 times as powerful. This produces about 4 hours’ worth of battery charge each day. This allows drivers to go miles off the electrical grid without fear of running out of energy. With a day’s worth of sunshine the C-MAX Solar Energi Concept performs just as well as Ford’s plug-in C-MAX Energi hybrid.
This Solar Energi Concept can also be charged at a charging station. This gives drivers another option when it comes to powering the vehicle. Even without that the vehicle can power 75% of trips the average driver of solar hybrid vehicle make.
We at Southwest Engines have to agree this is a great idea for saving energy. With the C-MAX Solar Energy Concept Ford is leading the auto industry into the future.
