Havasu man blazing new trail in Chevy

Sometime in September 2009, a Lake Havasu City green 1980 Chevy Blazer will be making its way down a highway somewhere in the United States, traveling at a high rate of speed.

As the sunlight beats down on the vehicle, the Blazer will be absorbing it. As it absorbs the sunlight, the vehicle will be powering up, running on sunlight, a small diesel generator with hydrogen boost and lead acid from lithium-ion batteries.

When the Blazer makes its way from 0 to 60 mph in around 12 seconds, carbon will be emitting a fraction of the rate of a regular car.

After a few thousand miles, the Blazer could still be running at full power without ever stopping.

And, behind the wheel will be the mad scientist, himself, Jim Stansbury director of the Physics Lab of Lake Havasu, the group responsible for creating what Stansbury said could be called the “Green Giant.”

Oct. 30, the lab announced the Blazer had been accepted into the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize competition, a multimillion-dollar competition held in September 2009 to help create new and viable super-fuel efficient automobiles.

Stansbury, an anesthesiologist by trade at Havasu Regional Medical Center, says it is a big step forward bringing alternative energy fuels to the mainstream. He noted 10 years ago, his technology would have been laughed at.

“The beauty of the X Prize is it gives legitimacy,” Stansbury said. “Things are coming out in the open. Automobile makers are embracing electric power, because society is mandating it now.”

The race competition begins in New York City and could go through several cities across the United States, including Chicago and Indianapolis, Stansbury said. Stansbury fought to have Lake Havasu City as one of the stops in the race but ultimately determined it would be too costly.

Waiting at the end of the competition is a $10 million prize, which should be split and spread out over two separate categories, Alternative entries and Mainstream entries, Stansbury said. Only 10 out of the 120 teams from 28 states and 17 countries have been accepted, thus far.

The team will have to pass the first round of qualification. Many teams may be forced to drop off because of their vehicles are not ready, Stansbury said.

If the team passes the first round, it would have a green light for the cross-country race, but Stansbury says there is much work that needs to be done on the Blazer before they can get there.

We’re not quite there yet. It’s baby steps, Stansbury said, speaking on the phone from Las Vegas, where the physics lab will have some of their technologies on display at the Regen EV Shocks booth Nov. 4-7 at the 2008 SEMA Show.

Stansbury’s first step is to present the Physics Lab’s power/propulsion system at the SEMA Show, including the proprietary regenerative suspension system and the Regen EV Shocks created by his team.

Regen EV Shocks are hydraulic shocks that generate electricity from the ground for the Blazer to run, similar to the static electricity a person creates walking across a carpet floor or the way plants generate energy, Stansbury noted.

The Blazer is currently limited in its travel. After the SEMA Show, the vehicle returns to Lake Havasu City for further fine-tuning and preparation for the race.

Big O Tires and Morphic Industries in Lake Havasu City have gotten on board, sponsoring the Physics Lab, but Stansbury said they are still looking for more sponsorship.

Stansbury and his team hope to retrofit both name brand automobiles and trucks with the same technologies they are using for the Blazer, eventually increasing the miles per gallon to around 100 and reducing carbon emissions.

Stansbury called it the “green revolution.” With the X Prize competition, the “green revolution” may officially begin. And, with the “green revolution” may come the future of the automotive industry, the end of dependence on foreign oil, and one giant leap forward for alternative energy.

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