Blog Archive

207.5 MPGe

Seven officially received an EPA mileage rating of 207.5 MPGe, based on the official EPA 74 test cycle used for determining mileage for electric and hybrid vehicles like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, during its recently completed testing at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea Michigan. The testing consists of two parts: coast-down and dyno testing. Coast-down consist of

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In media res

This winter, we received word that funding for coast down and dyno testing was available but that the deadline to use it was the end of March. Finally! A chance to get official data proving what 7 could do! We knew from the XPrize that with a slipping clutch costing a lot of efficiency, the 3000+ pound car could still

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The new year brings changes

The new year has brought about some changes for Team IMW. Congratulations First off, I’d like to congratulate: Nate and Jaime on the arrival of their baby girl, Bayden Josh and Dustie, who will welcome their second son into the world later this year George for his well-earned retirement from the IL EPA (though he was just hired back this

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Congratulations SpaceX

I want to congratulate SpaceX on the successful launch of their Falcon 9 rocket, and the orbit of their Dragon module. This is the first successful launch to orbit of a private space vehicle that I know of. Wow I can only imagine all the hard work that has gone into making this happen. http://www.spacex.com Seven has been taken down

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Still tinkering

Hello, everyone. It has been over a month since a blog from Illuminati, so here is my take on what is going on.  We are still dedicated to the pursuit of highly efficient transportation. In that vein we are looking toward building our own inverter with a couple interesting features I don’t think anyone else has tried (maybe for good

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Where Rubber Meets the Road: 217.8 MPGe

So much for all the estimates, equations and calculations, they’re great estimators but truly utter B.S. until rubber hits the road and you see what you and your vehicle are actually made of. We now know exactly how far Seven can go on a charge….more or less, that is. I was feeling a bit adventurous this past Sunday and decided

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Going the Distance on Good Ideas

How far can good ideas and commonsense take you; about 200 miles. Last Sunday October 18th, 2010 Kevin drove Seven 199.3 miles on one charge. We used 94 Ah out of our 100Ah pack that equates to 159 watts per mile at 60-65mph, for those who are not electric vehicle people think of it as 216Mpge. We aren’t done yet

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EV supplies from Victron Energy are showing promise

Meet our newest sponsor: Victron Energy, supplier of EV components and a whole lot more. Whether your EV runs on land, water, or anywhere else you can imagine, Victron Energy’s products include sinewave inverters, sinewave inverters/chargers, battery chargers, DC/DC converters, transfer switches, battery monitors and more. Victron Energy has a strong, unrivalled reputation for technical innovation, reliability, and build quality.

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Congratulations to Oliver and the Edison 2 team.

In case you didn’t already know, Oliver Kuttner, Team leader and owner of Edison2, has won the mainstream division of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. He did this by going farther than anyone has before in advancing the automobile in the areas of light weight, aerodynamics and engine efficiency, by going further than any other team in the mainstream class

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I love a parade

Since receiving its VIN and license plates, Seven has cruised Route 66, attended at drive in movie, and been driven as a commuter car in Springfield, IL. I think its time to celebrate. If you’re in the Springfield, IL area, be sure to attend the IL State Fair Twilight Parade, Thursday, August 12, at 6pm. Illuminati Motor Works and Seven

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