Border to Border
assortment of different writeups of a man and his car who made the guiness book of world records twice with the same vehicle. the avion. built and driven by craig henderson for the most mile per gallon on one tank of gas.
Content
Goodyear Fuel Max Challenge Craig Henderson
Border to Border on One Tank of Fuel
Goodyear Fuel Max Border to Border Run
Website Hits
Site Title Post Date URL http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/15/autos-prius-volttechnology-avion.html?boxes=Homepagechannels
Forbes.com
Return of The Avion Car
9/16/2010
Wired
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/3/2010
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/09/avioncanada-to-mexico/
Gather
Bellingham Man Breaks Own Fuel Economy Record
9/5/2010
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId= 281474978496870
Signon San Diego
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/3/2010
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/03 /canada-to-mexico-on-one-tank-of-fuel/
Fast Company
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record Video of custom Avion auto that averaged 119.1 miles per gallon on 1400 mile trip Western Washington Grad Bound for Mexico on a Tank of Gas
9/7/2010
http://www.fastcompany.com/1687407/retrohypermiling-car-goes-from-canada-to-mexico-on-asingle-tank http://www.switched.com/2010/09/04/craighendersons-canada-to-mexico-drive-on-one-tankof-gas-sets/ http://www.examiner.com/home-technology-incleveland/video-of-custom-avion-auto-that-gets-1191-miles-per-gallon-on-last-week-s-1400-mile-trip
Switched
9/8/2010
Examiner
9/5/2010
Seattle Times
8/30/2010
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/20 12758430_car30m.html
Seattle Times
How 100 MPG Cars Work
9/13/2010
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/personaltech nology/2012887319_works14.html
Mother Earth News
The Avion Goes 100+ MPG from Canada to Mexico Washington State Man Drives 1,400 Miles without Refueling Lightweight Avion travels 1,478 miles on 12.4 gallons of diesel; that's 119.1 mpg! From Canada To Mexico On One Tank of Diesel Bellingham man's car goes from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
9/3/2010
http://www.motherearthnews.com/blogs/blog.aspx? blogid=1500&tag=Avion
New York Times
9/9/2010
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/homebuilt-car-drives-1400-miles-without-refueling/
AOL AutoBlog
9/5/2010
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/09/08/lightweightavion-travels-1-478-miles-on-12-4-gallons-of-diesel/
Jalopnik
9/3/2010
http://jalopnik.com/5628752/from-canada-tomexico-on-one-tank-of-diesel
News Tribune
9/3/2010
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/03/13273 01/bellingham-mans-car-goes-from.html
News Tribune
Bellingham man Breaks Fuel Record Washington Man Hopes to Drive His Homemade Car to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel Trip goal: Border to border on 14 gallons
9/3/2010
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/03/13268 54/bellingham-man-breaks-fuelrecord.html#ixzz0ziW0k3qV
King5
8/30/2010
http://www.king5.com/video/featuredvideos/Bellingham-man-hopes-to-drive-hishomemade-car-to-Mexico-on-one-tank101810113.html http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/08/30/Tripgoal-Border-to-border-on-14-gallons/UPI60551283187723/
UPI
8/30/2010
NDTV
He Drove 1400 Miles without Refueling
9/9/2010
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/he-drove-1-400miles-without-refuelling-50901
Gas Buddy
Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
9/5/2010
http://www.peigasprices.com/news/Canada_to_Me xico_on_one_tank_of_fuel/30209_419632/index.a spx
Mother Nature Network
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
9/12/2010
http://www.mnn.com/transportation/cars/stories/can ada-to-mexico-on-one-tank-of-gas
Redding
Washington Man Shoots for 100 or More MPG
8/31/2010
http://blogs.redding.com/ddarling/archives/2010/08/ washington-man.html
Seattle Weekly
Craig Henderson Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
9/3/2010
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/09/ craig_henderson_drives_from_ca.php
Auto Guide
One Tank of Gas from Canada to Mexico
9/11/2020
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/09/onetank-of-gas-from-canada-to-mexico-%E2%80%93the-avion-proves-it-can-be-done.html http://www.automedia.com/blog/post/Avion-GreenCar-Drives-From-Canada-To-Mexico-On-OneTank.aspx
Automedia
Avion Green Car Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas The Avion: Driving From Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons of Gas
9/2/2010
Geekosystem
9/2/2010
http://www.geekosystem.com/canada-mexico-driveone-tank-gas/
Core 77
8/30/2010
http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/the_avi on_driving_from_canada_to_mexico-on_just_14_gallons_of_gas_17262.asp
Daily Me
Goodyear Henderson
9/8/2010
http://dailyme.com/gallery/geography/henderson.ht ml
Bellingham Herald
Bellingham man's car goes from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel Posted in: Cars From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
9/4/2010
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/09/03/1601 820_bellingham-mans-car-goes-from.html
Alttransport
9/3/2010
http://alttransport.com/2010/09/from-canada-tomexico-on-one-tank-of-gas/
One News Page
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/2/2010
http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Automotive/20 100902/14653102/Canada-to-Mexico-on-OneTank-of-Fuel.htm
Auto in the News
From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Fuel Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record To Mexico on a Tank of Gas Record? Tacoma Native Heads Out
9/3/2010
http://www.autointhenews.com/from-canada-tomexico-on-a-single-tank-of-fuel/
Tech News Daily
9/5/2010
http://technewsdaily.co.za/2010/09/05/craighendersons-canada-to-mexico-drive-on-one-tankof-gas-sets-world-record/
The Olympian
8/30/2010
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/08/30/1352178/t o-mexico-on-a-tank-of-gas.html
Auto Evolution
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/2/2010
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/canada-tomexico-on-one-tank-of-fuel-24063.html
Money Talks
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank
9/7/2010
http://money.blogdig.net/archives/articles/Septemb er2010/07/Retro_Car_Goes_From_Canada_to_M exico_On_a_Single_Tank.html
ZerCustoms
Goodyear: 1,400 Miles on One Tank of Gas
9/7/2010
http://www.zercustoms.com/news/Goodyear:-1,400Miles-On-1-Tank-Of-Gas.html
Auto123
Avion Sets New Mileage Record at 119.1 MPG
9/3/2010
http://www.auto123.com/en/news/greenwheels/avion-sets-new-mileage-record-at-1191mpg-or-1975-l100-km?artid=122502 http://www.bundle.com/everybodysmoney/AroundF or-real-fuel-economy-forget-Prius-1984-Avion12683#/spending/bubbles/U.S.//0/0/0/101 http://motorage.searchautoparts.com/motorage/Customer+Service/Marath on-gas-saving-car-trip-boosted-by-Goodyears/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/686078?contextCate goryId=41884 http://www.energyboom.com/transportation/avionjourney-prove-it-still-worlds-most-efficient-car
Bundle
For Real Fuel Economy, Forget the Prius and go for the 1984 Avion Marathon Gas-Saving Car Trip Boosted by Goodyear's Fuel Max Tires The Avion: on a Journey to Prove it is Still the World's Most Efficient Car
9/12/2010
Search Auto Parts
9/8/2010
Energy Boom
8/30/2010
OverOll
From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
9/9/2010
http://www.overoll.com/Content/From-Canada-ToMexico-On-One-Tank-of-Diesel/2010/9/3/327090.news
Damego
Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Gas
9/4/2010
http://www.damego.com/man-drives-from-canadato-mexico-on-a-single-tank-of-gas
NW Autos
WWU Grad Makes it to Mexico on One Tank
9/12/2010
http://blog.nwautos.com/2010/09/pick_fuel_econo my_sticker_mexico_on_one_tank_driving_with_do gs_is_distracting.html
KRCRTV
Man Drives Car That Gets 100+ Miles per Gallon
8/31/2010
http://www.krcrtv.com/news/24833611/detail.html
KGMI
Bellingham Man Driving to Mexico on Single Tank of Gas
9/3/2010
http://www.kgmi.com/Morning-News/2990291
Future Cars
Avion Car Company
9/8/2010
http://www.futurecars.com/blog/general-car-blogs/xprize-profile-avion-car-company
Modern Tire Dealer
Goodyear Fuel Max Goes Border to Border
9/2/2010
http://www.moderntiredealer.com/News/Story/2010 /09/Goodyear-Fuel-Max-goes-border-toborder.aspx
TechBump
Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record Goodyear Fuel Max Goes From Canada to Mexico
9/4/2010
http://techbump.info/2010/09/04/craig-hendersonscanada-to-mexico-drive-on-one-tank-of-gas-setsworld-record.html http://www.autosphere.ca/en/tires-industrynews.html_goodyear-fuel-max-goes-from-canadato-mexic.html
Autosphere
9/3/2010
Budez
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
9/3/2010
http://www.budez.com/topics/2010/09/from-canadato-mexico-on-12-4-gallons-of-diesel/
ToTo Site
Save This Car More than Motor
9/7/2010
http://www.totoprayogo.web.id/2010/09/save-thiscar-more-than-motor/
Car Mild
Taking Avion 2200 km Only With One Tank
9/5/2010
http://www.carmild.com/2010/09/taking-avion-2200km-only-with-one-tank.html
La Bonne Route
Avion sets new mileage record at 119.1 MPG Avion Custom Car Travels 1400 Miles on 12 Gallons; Goodyear Fuel Max Tires Credited Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel Goodyear Tires Help Record-Setting Border-toBorder Run
9/2,2010
http://labonneroute.com/index,view.spy?ARTID=12 2502
Free Republic
9/7/2010
Avion Custom Car Travels 1400 Miles on 12 Gallons; Goodyear Fuel Max Tires Credited
Auto Green
9/9/2010
http://autogreenmag.com/2010/09/09/lightweightavion-travels-1478-miles-on-124-gallons-of-dieselthats-1191-mpg/ http://autoden.org/lightweight-avion-travels-1478miles-on-12-4-gallons-of-diesel-thats-119-1-mpg08136423.html
Auto Den
9/8/2010
Topof
9/6/2010
http://koleso.topof.ru/en/news.php?pID=7270
Car Buzz
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
9/3/2010
http://www.carzbuzz.com/story/from-canada-tomexico-on-124-gallons-of-diesel
Joom Cool
Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Ultra-Efficient Avion to Go from Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons A 1984 Designed Diesel Avion Returns 119.1 MPG in 1478 Miles
9/9/2010
http://www.joomcool.com/forums/showthread.php? 28170-Craig-Henderson-s-Canada-to-Mexico-Driveon-One-Tank-of-Gas-Sets-World-Record http://www.choicevacuums.com/living-green-blogposts/ultra-efficient-avion-to-go-from-canada-tomexico-on-14-gallons/
Choice Vacuums
8/30/2010
My Desultory Blog
9/5/2010
http://richc.myarchive.us/2010/09/a-1984-designeddiesel-avion-returns-119-1-mpg-in-1478-miles/
September 16, 2010
Visitors per Month: 8,539,588
Return Of The Avion Car
The Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Voltand the Toyota Prius dominate today's fuel-efficient news stories, but other vehicles are quietly making their mark on the industry. One such vehicle is the Avion. Although the Avion doesn't have the name recognition that the Prius does, the vehicle has been making fuel efficiency news for more than two decades. Last month, Craig Henderson, one of the designers of the Avion, began a Canada-toMexico drive. During this trip, Henderson avoided all of the tourist traps and instead stopped only to use the restroom, eat and sleep. This was a man on a mission and not a man out for a scenic drive. The mission was to drive from Canada to Mexico on one tank of gas while achieving a fuel efficiency of over 100 mpg, for the second time. That's right, the second time. In 1984 Henderson and his partner Bill Green designed the first Avion. In 1986 the vehicle made it from the Mexican border to the Canadian border averaging 103.7 mpg for the trip. This set a Guinness World Record for fuel efficiency. The team had plans to bring the Avion to market, but unfortunately fuel efficiency wasn't at the forefront of everyone's mind at the time and the vehicle never made it into production. Fast forward 24 years and Henderson took a similar journey, this time from Canada to Mexico in a new and improved Avion. The new vehicle weighs in at 1,500 pounds thanks to a high-tech design, which features carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar and aluminum. As
an added bonus, the vehicle is designed to maximize the use of recycled automotive parts. The trip with the new and improved Avion only used 12.4 gallons of gasoline, which equals an average fuel economy of 119.1 mpg. Now Henderson feels the market is ready for the Avion. Henderson has plans to bring the Avion to market in a limited production run. Specific details aren't yet available, but Avion's 100MPGPlus.com website will be updated as more information becomes available.
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 3,292,633
Bellingham Man Breaks Own Fuel Economy Record
Craig Henderson told the world late last week that he broke his own world record for fuel economy. The Bellingham man did it driving an updated version of the Avion sports car he designed and drove for his first record-making attempt. Henderson's trek ran from Blaine, WA, a town on the Canadian border, to the Mexican border. The Bellingham Record notes that he started on Sunday. During the trip, Henderson reported an average of 119.1 mpg. In 1986, he set the record of 103.7 mpg. He took three days to travel 1,478 miles. The Avion sports car used 12.4 gallons of gas. The Bellingham man had estimated that he'd use 14 of the 19 gallons he started with. Henderson's fuel economy record-breaking Avion sports car was built as a custom project by himself and a friend 25 years ago. They used recycled car parts and installed a diesel engine. The body is designed to reduce drag, a large factor in fuel economy. When he first set the economy record in 1986, not many people were interested in an economical car. He brought the Avion back this week to show that it can be done. And it's hard not to agree with Henderson when he says, "It's kind of funny... these are two guys who did this. Why can't Detroit do this?" For those of us feeling the bite at the pump, that question is more timely than ever. As for the Avion, its website reports that they are gearing up to sell a limited production run of the car. No word on its cost yet, but odds are the fuel economy record-breaking car will not be a cost economy record setter.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 2,928,133
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
A Washington State man who built his own fuel-efficient car 25 years ago repeated his feat of driving border-to-border on a single tank of diesel this week. "I smashed my old record," Craig Henderson said shortly after arriving at an Otay Mesa parking lot just across the Mexican border Wednesday. He said the aerodynamic car, which he calls Avion, averaged 119 mpg on its journey from Canada to San Diego. His old record was 103. The key was an aerodynamic, lightweight design and tires with low rolling resistance from Goodyear, which sponsored the trip. The car weighs 1,500 pounds and has an 18-gallon fuel tank. To achieve the high mileage, Henderson drove 55 to 60 mph. Henderson, of Bellingham, Wash., initially built the car hoping he could get a manufacturer to produce a commercial version.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,680,286
From Canada To Mexico On One Tank of Diesel
Craig Henderson drove from Blaine, Washington to the Mexican border — a distance of 1,478 miles — without stopping to refuel. He burned 12.4 gallons for a record-breaking 119.1 mpg in a car he originally designed in 1984. The Avion is a car Craig Henderson originally built with partner Bill Green way back in 1984 as a prototype for a high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. Commercial plans never came to fruition, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he's kept tinkering with it, improving its powertrain and aerodynamics along the way.
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,860,147
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank
By Ariel Schwartz Energy efficiency has only recently become a popular concern among vehicle owners, but some people have been thinking about it for a long, long time. Craig Henderson and Bill Green designed the Avion, a fuel-efficient sports car, in 1984. Two years later, the vehicle set the Guinness World Record for fuel economy, getting an average of 103.7 mpg all the way from the Mexico border to the British Columbia, Canada border. Now Henderson has revived the Avion for another jaunt from Canada to Mexico. The latest iteration of the vehicle is just 1500 pounds and features an aluminum monocoque frame, a carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass body, and Goodyear "Fuel Max" tires. After receiving a sponsorship deal from Goodyear, Henderson decided to go from border to border once again--this time, on a single tank of gas. Jalopnik reports that Henderson began his latest journey on August 29th. He stopped only to go to the bathroom, grab food, and catch a night's rest. The result: Henderson burned only 12.4 gallons on his journey to the Mexican border for a fuel economy of 119.1 mpg, breaking his own Guinness World Record from 1986. (He drove at a pretty constant 55 mph.) Henderson is gearing up for limited commercial production of the Avion. If our fascination with fuel economy is any indication, he won't have any trouble selling it.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,053,990
Western Washington Grad Bound for Mexico on a Tank of Gas
Craig Henderson is back on the road, hoping to drive from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on about 14 gallons of fuel. He set out Sunday, believing he can better his performance from 1986, when on a similar trip, Henderson's specially engineered car grabbed the Guinness world record for mileage, getting an average of 103.7 miles per gallon. During this trip — expected to take three to four days down Interstate 5 — he'll try to keep the speedometer at 60 mph, and thinks he'll arrive in Mexico with fuel to spare. Henderson, 53, built the car soon after graduating from Western Washington University, with fellow alum Bill Green. Around an engine from a Volkswagen diesel, they fashioned a car with a frame of lightweight aluminum. It weighs less than 1,500 pounds, sits just 43 inches high, and requires only 3 to 6 horsepower to maintain highway speed. There are no air bags, but it does have a new stereo and leather seats. "It's a sports car, my own creation," Henderson said.
The car can carry two people and has trunk space for two sets of golf clubs, said Henderson, who said he has no plans to mass produce the car because he doesn't have the money. Still, he hopes car manufacturers will take note. Henderson figures he's spent about $30,000 on the car and recently put $12,000 more into it with a new motor. After his record-breaking drive, the car went into storage in a barn, where mice invaded and it fell into disrepair. But recently Henderson, the president of a Bellingham boatdesign company, found himself with some extra time and an offer from Goodyear to pay his expenses if he tried the company's low gas mileage tires. "This is me trying to break my own record," he said. The drive is sponsored by Goodyear, which sent along a public-relations person and paid for the trip, including $42 for fuel.
The car is built with two things in mind: weight and aerodynamics. To achieve a featherweight 1500-lb target, it uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel front/rear crash and suspension subframes. To the frame a slippery wind tunnel-shaped body made of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass is riveted and bonded in place, yielding a very stiff structure. An 800-cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and the rear wheels are powered through a five-speed gearbox.
With such light weight and low-resistance aerodynamics, the car only requires 3-4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace, perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along just sipping fuel. Henderson recently got sponsorship from Goodyear and tossed on a set of their low rolling resistance "Fuel Max" tires and has been seeing 115 mpg averages. As a promotional stunt, he decided to set off from the US/Canadian border at Blaine, way to the Mexican border without filling up. Border-to-border on one tank.
Henderson started off on August 29th and essentially drove the entire length of Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep overnight. When he arrived at the Mexican border near Chula Vista, he'd burned an officially measured 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg fuel economy. The run actually broke the 103 mpg Guinness world record the car had set on the same border to border run in 1986.
The development on the Avion isn't over either. He's got plans to restart his dream of building the car in limited quantities. It speaks volumes that this car was built 26 years ago and with a little modification can manage such impressive fuel economy still to this day. Amazing what some added lightness and aerodynamics can accomplish.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,400,078
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from Blaine, Washington, to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984. Henderson rolled into Chula Vista, California, at the wheel of the Avion four days after he left home. The Avion is a car he built with Bill Green 26 years ago as a prototype high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. The business floundered, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he’s kept tinkering with it, improving its power train and aerodynamics. The car was built with two things in mind: light weight and aerodynamics. To hit the featherweight 1,500-pound target, the car uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear. The body of carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass is riveted and bonded to the body, yielding a very stiff vehicle. An 800cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and powers the rear wheels through a five-speed gearbox. Because it’s so light and aerodynamic, the car needs just three to four horsepower to maintain 55 mph. That’s perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along while only sipping fuel. Henderson recently landed a sponsorship from Goodyear, so he’s installed a set of the company’s low-rolling resistance Fuel Max tires and has been averaging about 115 mpg.
As a promotional stunt, Henderson decided to make a run for the border, the Mexican border. He planned to make the trip on one tank. He hit the road on Aug. 29 and stuck largely to Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep. When he rolled up to the border near Chula Vista on Wednesday he’d burned 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg. That topped the 103 mpg the car achieved, and Guinness classified as a world record — during a similar border-to-border run in 1986. The trip is done, but development of the Avion continues. Henderson plans to revisit his dream of producing the car in limited quantities.
September 13, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,053,990
How 100 MPG Cars Work
Recently a car drove from the Canadian border in Washington all the way down to the Mexican border in California on I-5. That's nearly 1,500 miles. What was amazing about the trip was the fact that the car burned only 12.4 gallons of fuel. The car got an average of 119 miles per gallon. This was not a weird experimental car made out of tissue paper, with the driver lying in a prone position looking out through a periscope. This was a real, two-passenger car that looks pretty normal. The car, called the Avion, proved once and for all that it is possible to create 100 MPG cars that can drive on real roads under real conditions. What's even more amazing is the fact that the car was not created by a university research team or NASA scientists. The car was originally created in the 1980s by Craig Henderson and Bill Green and has been tweaked ever since. It brings up a good question — How can our cars get more miles per gallon of fuel? Let's look at the different techniques that the Avion uses. The most important feature of the Avion is its aerodynamics. Air flow has a huge effect on a car's fuel efficiency, especially at highway speeds. A typical car might need 10 to 20 horsepower to maintain a highway speed. The Avion needs far less horsepower — down in the 3 to 4 horsepower range — to achieve the same speeds. The reason the Avion is so slippery is that it takes into account the major sources of drag in conventional cars and eliminates them. A big part of it is the shape of the rear of the car. Think about a raindrop. It has a bulbous nose and a long, sloping tail. The longer tail is important, so the Avion's rear end looks a lot like a raindrop's. The Avion is also a low car. Many of today's cars (especially SUVs and minivans) are taller than a person. That means the car has to move a lot of air out of the way as it goes down the road. The Avion is built like a low sports car, so there is less air to move. In a conventional car there are lots of extra sources of drag. The underside of a conventional car is all bumpy, with many extraneous pieces catching the wind. It is possible to make the underside smooth like a race car and eliminate most of this air
resistance. There is a big, vertical grill up front in most cars acting like a wall to the wind. Spoked wheels chop at the air. The Avion addresses all of these problems. It is low, has no grill and has smooth hub caps and a smooth underside. Another kind of drag comes from the rolling resistance of the tires. Big, fat tires with low air pressure create a lot of resistance. The Avion used lowresistance tires on its trip. Many hybrids are using these tires as well to improve their performance. Another thing helping the Avion is its weight. It is made of aluminum and other lightweight materials so that it weighs half as much as a normal car. The weight helps whenever accelerating or going up a hill. Think about the amount of energy needed to get a Ping-Pong ball going 5 mph. Now compare that to the energy needed to get a bowling ball going the same speed. The PingPong ball requires the slightest touch. The bowling ball requires a big push. In a car, extra weight means extra fuel being burned every time you climb a hill. And then there's the engine. The Avion uses a tiny diesel engine that is smaller than the engine found on many motorcycles. It doesn't need a giant engine because the car is so light and so slippery. The fact that it is a diesel also helps. Diesel fuel contains more energy than gasoline per gallon, so that helps right from the start. And a diesel engine uses a higher compression ratio, making it more efficient. By putting all of these things together — great aerodynamics, great tires, low weight and the most efficient engine possible — it is possible to create a car with great mileage. With luck, these techniques will trickle into mainstream cars now that they have been proven to work.
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,665,348
Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon. More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That's right, Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384-mile trip. Oh yeah, and the car was constructed in 1984. As Jalopnik explains, Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green, as a prototype he hoped to sell. Their commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion, fine-tuning its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. Thanks to its aluminum monocoque frame, the Avion weighs in at just 1500 pounds, and its sleek, aerodynamic body is crafted from carbon, kevlar and fiberglass. As a result, the Avion needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-perhour speed, while a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance 'Fuel Max' tires helps extend its mileage even further. Even after having completed this border-to-border feat, Henderson isn't done tinkering with his creation. The roadster is still pursuing his dream of producing the Avion on a larger scale. And, judging from this recent accomplishment, he probably won't have a hard time finding interested buyers.
September 6, 2010
VPM: 1,426,950
Video of custom Avion auto that averaged 119.1 miles per gallon on 1400 mile trip
Craig Henderson and Bill Green designed and built the Avion, a custom car that breaks fuel efficiency records, back in 1984; Henderson drove the Avion over 1400 miles on 12.4 gallons during a trip that ended a couple days ago. Attached below is a video from The Dori Monson Show, KIRO RADIO, that gives an idea of what the Avion looks like -- it's only 42 inches high, it's streamlined to the extreme, it's built more like an airplane than a car, and the driver sits about 6 inches off the ground. While the Avion is not available for home use, it gives people an picture of what is possible with streamlined engineering and lightweight materials. Henderson used Fuel Max tires from local tire giant Goodyear which undoubtedly helped achieve the spectacular mileage -- see this recent article: Henderson's Avion gets 119.1 MPG. Goodyear reports that the Fuel Max brand tires that Henderson used are available for 80% of the cars on the road today and they can increase fuel efficiency by 4%, reducing fuel requirements by 2,600 miles per set of tires. They're available at Goodyear tire stores throughout the Cleveland area.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 379,896
Craig Henderson Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
Craig Henderson started his odyssey near the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, in a high-mileage prototype he built in 1984 called the Avion. He ended it in Mexico, after traveling nearly 1,500 miles along I-5. And in between he didn't have to fill up once. Henderson once had plans to mass-market the Avion. His dreams of commercial success never went anywhere. But he kept tinkering until he had a world-record holder on his hands. With an aluminum frame and carbon fiber body, the Avion is about as light and aerodynamic as you can get for a roadster, two factors that helped Henderson get an incredible 119 miles per gallon on his trip. Henderson says he has plans to build a couple Avions in a limited production run. In the meantime he'll focus on his other hobby: driving past gas stations whilst giggling uncontrollably.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,705,844
Washington Man Hopes to Drive His Homemade Car to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Craig Henderson glides through the streets of his hometown, behind the wheel of his greatest creation. "Twenty-five years ago I had the dreams that I would be, well, the John DeLorean of Bellingham," he said. It's hard to believe it's been that long since Craig built the Avion. He's put his blood, sweat and tears have into this aerodynamic prototype that's sleek, stylish and a bit futuristic. But Craig and his wife say the real magic of the Avion can be felt at the gas pump. Craig says he can drive his car from Canada to Mexico on 14 gallons of fuel. "It's possible to get 100 miles per gallon without a flex or a Mr. Fusion machine," he said. With the backing of Goodyear tires, Craig will hit the road in Blaine and travel all the way to Mexico. He wants to break his own 1986 record at 103 miles to the gallon, and he also wants people to think about their own driving habits. "We don't need to reinvent the whole thing we just have to be better at what we're doing. A little streamlining a little lightweight, you know Humvees don't get good gas mileage cause it's like a brick," he said. And who knows? Maybe Craig's dreams of being the "DeLorean of Bellingham" -- will come true after all. "We'll stir it up and see what happens, maybe Daddy Warbucks will see this and come up and want to finance it," he said.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,497,578
Bellingham man's car goes from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
Bellingham resident Craig Henderson has driven the car he built in the 1980s from Canada to Mexico on one tank of diesel, getting an average of 119.1 miles per gallon, he said, and shattering the old record the car set back in 1986. Henderson started his border-to-border drive Sunday, Aug. 29, from Blaine. He finished Wednesday, Sept. 1. Known as the Avion, his sleek, red car covered 1,478 miles on 12.41 gallons of fuel, he said. "Not bad, huh?" Henderson said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. The average speed on the journey was 55 mph. The car weighs 1,500 pounds. By comparison, a 2010 Toyota Prius weighs 3,042 pounds, according to the company. Before embarking on his most recent border-to-border trip, Henderson said he swapped out the car's engine and replaced the tires with ones donated by Goodyear that were expected to add 4 percent to the car's fuel economy. Henderson said he had the results certified by Alex Marr, a past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Henderson's lightweight car had 14 gallons of diesel when he departed Sunday.
The owner of Bullfrog Boats and a Western Washington University alumnus, Henderson created the Avion with friend Bill Green in 1984 while both studied at the school's Vehicle Research Institute. Two years later, the duo drove the car from the U.S./Mexico border to Vancouver, B.C. averaging 103.7 miles per gallon and fueling their drive into the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2008, the car bested that fuel-efficiency record by getting an average of 113.1 miles per gallon on a drive from Bellingham to the Oregon border. The most recent drive was for fun and also a personal quest to break previous records held by the car, according to Henderson. Not that he wouldn't mind if something more happened. "If we can influence the car manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient cars, I will have done my part for the planet," he said. Henderson said he and Green, who teaches industrial design at Virginia Tech, also wanted to show that you didn't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to fuel-efficient vehicles. "We're just using current technology," he said.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,497,578
Bellingham man Breaks Fuel Record
Craig Henderson said Thursday he broke his world record for fuel economy, proving again that his aerodynamic Avion sports car can drive from border to border on a single tank of gas. The Tacoma native started the venture Sunday, determined to show the car he built 25 years ago gets the most miles per gallon of any vehicle . Over the 1,478-mile drive from Blaine to the Mexican border, Henderson said, he averaged 119.1 mpg. His 1986 world record was 103.7 mpg. “I had butterflies for a while in my stomach thinking, ‘Are we going to make it? Is it going to break down?’ ” Henderson said Thursday. “All those things were going through my head.” He steered the Avion to the Mexican border about 6 p.m. Wednesday. Henderson said he enjoyed the journey but will be shipping his car home to Bellingham rather than putting more miles on it. He said that during the three-day trip the car used 12.4 gallons of gas. He had anticipated using about 14, though he brought 19 gallons with him. Henderson and a friend designed and built the Avion 25 years ago, using recycled car parts and installing a small diesel engine. “It’s kind of funny … these are two guys who did this,” Henderson said. “Why can’t Detroit do this?”
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,303,725
Trip goal: Border to Border on 14 Gallons
An inventor says he will drive an ultra light car he built down the length of the U.S. West Coast on 14 gallons of gas. Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Wash., told The (Tacoma) News Tribune he expects to spend $42 on fuel in his 1,400-mile drive from Blaine, Wash., on the Canadian border to Tijuana, Mexico. He built the aerodynamic sports car, which weighs less than 1,500 pounds, in 1984 and named it the Avion. In 1986, he set a world record for fuel economy at 103.7 miles per gallon driving from Mexico to Canada. Henderson intends to take Interstate 5 all the way south, driving no faster than 60 mph. Goodyear is sponsoring the trip to promote its Assurance Fuel Max tires, which are on the car. He expects to use 14 gallons of fuel, which he is carrying with him. The Avion should hit the Mexican border Wednesday. Henderson is unsure what this trip could mean for his record, but that's not the point. "It's a personal thing," Henderson said. "I want bragging rights."
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 924,486
He Drove 1,400 Miles without Refueling
Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Washington, which is about 90 miles north of Seattle, planned to drive his home-built car from the Canadian border to the Mexican border without stopping for fuel. Before leaving on August 29, he'd carefully calculated that his streamlined car could travel the nearly 1,400 miles on 14 gallons of diesel. Of course, things didn't go exactly as planned. When Mr. Henderson arrived at the border at Tijuana three days later, the bright-red coupe had completed the voyage, albeit after using only 12.4 gallons of fuel, at an average of 119.1 miles per gallon. "I could have driven halfway back," Mr. Henderson said in a telephone interview after completing the drive. I'm very, very happy," he said, sounding breathless but relieved. "We proved it's not a fluke. We didn't just break our old record, we smashed it." The Avion earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1986 during a similar drive from Canada to Mexico at an average 103.7 miles per gallon. Designed and built by Mr. Henderson and his friend and fellow engineer Bill Green, the car is called the Avion - French for airplane.
The car has a fiberglass exterior and gullwing-style doors that swing up and out from the body. There is room for only two adults. A 3-cylinder diesel engine from a Smart For-two is mounted behind the passenger compartment. Power is delivered to the rear wheels using a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission. During this most recent trip - driven in a nearly straight line south along Interstate 5 - the Avion had no trouble beating its old record. The total driving time took 29 hours and 28 minutes. Stops were made for food and rest, but never fuel. "People gave lots of thumbs-up and cell phones were out snapping pictures," Mr. Henderson said. The only hiccup came almost within site of the finish, during a grueling traffic jam in San Diego. "I was thinking, this won't work if I crash," Mr. Henderson said. Two years ago he drove the car, a slightly updated version (he enlarged the gas tank from 10 gallons to 17) of the original Avion, at an average of 113.1 miles per gallon from the Canadian border to the Oregon line. But with corporate sponsorship from Goodyear that got him new tires, Mr. Henderson's ambitions turned back to a run along the length of the West Coast. "It's great to get a sponsor to help do this," he said. Mr. Henderson says work has already begun on a second Avion.
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 821,244
Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
San Diego Union Tribune -- A Washington State man who built his own fuel-efficient car 25 years ago repeated his feat of driving border-to-border on a single tank of diesel this week. "I smashed my old record," Craig Henderson said shortly after arriving at an Otay Mesa parking lot just across the Mexican border Wednesday. He said the aerodynamic car, which he calls Avion, averaged 119 mpg on its journey from Canada to San Diego. His old record was 103. The key was an aerodynamic, lightweight design and tires with low rolling resistance from Goodyear, which sponsored the trip. The car weighs 1,500 pounds and has an 18-gallon fuel tank. To achieve the high mileage, Henderson drove 55 to 60 mph.
September 12, 2010
Visitors per Month: 745,705
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
The Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, and the Toyota Prius dominate today’s fuel-efficient news stories, but other vehicles are quietly making their mark on the industry. One such vehicle is the Avion. Although the Avion doesn’t have the name recognition that the Prius does, the vehicle has been making fuel efficiency news for more than two decades. What started in the 1980s is continuing today. On Aug. 29, 2010, Craig Henderson, one of the designers of the Avion, began a Canadato-Mexico drive. During this trip, Henderson avoided all of the tourist traps and instead stopped only to use the restroom, eat and sleep. This was a man on a mission and not a man out for a scenic drive. The mission was to drive from Canada to Mexico on one tank of gas while achieving a fuel efficiency of over 100 mpg, for the second time. That’s right, the second time. In 1984, Henderson and his partner Bill Green designed the first Avion. In 1986, the vehicle made it from the Mexican border to the Canadian border averaging 103.7 mpg for the trip. This set a Guinness World Record for fuel efficiency. The team had plans to bring the Avion to market, but unfortunately fuel efficiency wasn’t at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the time and the vehicle never made it into production status. Fast forward 24 years and Henderson took a similar journey, this time from Canada to Mexico in a new and improved Avion. The new vehicle weighs in at 1,500 pounds thanks to a high-tech design, which features carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar and aluminum. As an added bonus, the vehicle is designed to maximize the use of recycled automotive parts. The trip with the new and improved Avion only used 12.4 gallons of gasoline, which equals an average fuel economy of 119.1 mpg. Now Henderson feels the market is ready for the Avion. Henderson has plans to bring the Avion to market in a limited production run. Specific details aren’t yet available, but Avion’s 100MPGPlus.com website will be updated as more information becomes available.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 733,382
The Avion Goes 100+ MPG from Canada to Mexico
Craig Henderson is my hero. He was an automotive technology student at Western Washington University when he and his friend, Bill Green, designed and built the Avion. Other than paint and graphics, it doesn't look much different than it did in 1986, when it first broke 100 mpg on the highway. Well heck, who cared back then? We had plenty of gasoline in the pipeline and gas was a cheap as firewood. The Guinness folks gave them a world record (103 mpg) and they considered building a kit, but in those consumptuous times, nobody wanted an ecofreako-dorkmobile no matter how cool it looked. So Craig put the Avion under a tarp for 20 years and founded Bullfrog Boats to hone his fabrication skills. Fast forward to today. Energy is an issue again and the Avion is no longer ahead of its time, it's right on schedule. Craig built another Avion with a modern engine, from a diesel Smart Car, and made a set of molds so he can crank out more car bodies if the world calls for Avions — and how better to get the world calling than another long distance record attempt; from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel. He found a sponsor
to pick up the travel tab, and so the Avion Economy in Motion Border to Border Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max Challenge was born (sponsored by Goodyear, in the name of its Assurance Fuel Max tires. Craig set out from the Canadian border crossing at Blaine, Washington, on Sunday morning, August 29, and reached the California/Mexico border on Wednesday, September 1. He was accompanied by an SUV containing an engineer to handle the fuel, and a publicist to handle the press. For MOTHER EARTH NEWS this is a major story, right? Well worth sending Ace Reporter, Yours Truly, to the front lines, right? We were geared up to follow the Avion, me and MAX, the full 1,400 miles from start to finish ... until a month ago when we were asked not to go. That may seem an odd decision. None of the other press reps were interested enough to track them from initial fueling to final measurement of the dregs, and you'd think they'd want somebody around to say “I was there and yes they did it.” To avoid speculation, I asked the publicist for an explanation I could quote, and here it is: "Craig wanted to focus on the Avion breaking his old record, he wasn't interested in doing the Border to Border run with MAX or any other vehicle. He just wants to achieve his dream of doing a solo run to smash his old record." I can relate to that. I'll be driving MAX to the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in Pennsylvania in a couple weeks and I'm looking forward to doing it solo; just me, MAX, and a sleeping bag. I might not enjoy the trip as much if some newsguy was hanging around documenting it. But I did connect briefly with the Avion team, near the halfway point, in Redding, California, where I saw the Avion live for the first time. I didn't learn much I couldn't learn off their Twitter page (“Portland, OR to Redding, CA - 117.0 MPG “ at the time, and their latest tweet says “1478 Miles using only 12.41 Gallons of Fuel. 119.1 MPG”) but it was enough to leave me impressed. I'll tell you, in an open road economy contest, the Avion would wax MAX. Their best leg was Redding to Fresno, claimed at 129 MPG, and MAX is still in double digits. Also the Avion looks gorgeous, like a small quantity production car, whereas even the kindest spectator would call MAX a work in progress. All in all, the Avion is the better car, as well it should be for five times the money, but if you get one, you'll be getting what you pay for.
Craig intends to put out an Avion kit at around $30,000, plus you'll need a diesel Smart Car (not an easy acquisition in America) and some other odds and ends, and you'll have a car that gives you every reason to feel smug as you cruise down the road. My hat's off to Craig, for sticking to his dreams and making one heck of a car, and maybe next year we can do a Three Flags Econo Rally. If that comes to fruition, I'll be honored if MAX comes in second to the Avion. I'm also interested in checking out Fuel Max tires, so I'll probably be talking with their publicist again. According to Goodyear, these tires can add 4% to your mileage, and when you're nibbling at triple digit MPG, 4% looks like a lot.
August 31, 2010
Visitors Per Month: 487,584
Washington Man Shoots for 100 or More MPG
Craig Henderson is trying to go far on one 14-gallon tank of diesel - more than 1,000 miles, from the Canadian to Mexican borders. Driving the Avion, a futuristic looking red roadster that reminded me of Speed Racer's ride, Henderson said he aims to average better than 103 miles per gallon as he made a pit stop into the Record Searchlight's parking lot this morning. Henderson, 53, of Bellingham, Wash., built the car in his idle time as a young plastics engineer in the 1980s. In 1986 he said he set a Guinness World Record for miles per gallon driving from Mexico to Canada, averaging 103 mpg. Driven by an 800 cc, 3-cylinder engine that puts out 67 horsepower, Henderson said the keys to the car's high mpg are its aerodynamics and light weight - less than 1,500 pounds. This drive, which is part of a promotion by Goodyear Tire, Henderson said he has also has the company's Fuel Max tires to further bump up his mpg by four percent. He started Sunday, plans to be in Fresno tonight and at the Mexican border Wednesday. Henderson said his biggest worry about his trip is running into traffic jams. "You don't get good mileage stopped," he said.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 379,896
Craig Henderson Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
Craig Henderson started his odyssey near the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, in a high-mileage prototype he built in 1984 called the Avion. He ended it in Mexico, after traveling nearly 1,500 miles along I-5. And in between he didn't have to fill up once. Henderson once had plans to mass-market the Avion. His dreams of commercial success never went anywhere. But he kept tinkering until he had a world-record holder on his hands. With an aluminum frame and carbon fiber body, the Avion is about as light and aerodynamic as you can get for a roadster, two factors that helped Henderson get an incredible 119 miles per gallon on his trip. Henderson says he has plans to build a couple Avions in a limited production run. In the meantime he'll focus on his other hobby: driving past gas stations whilst giggling uncontrollably.
September 11, 2010
Visitors per Month: 354,212
One Tank of Gas from Canada to Mexico
Making a pit stop on a road trip can eat up a lot of driving time. Perhaps that’s that drove Craig Henderson to create the Avion, a high-mileage vehicle that he drove from Canada to Mexico without stopping for gas. Henderson took his prototype, which he helped build in 1984, from Blaine, Washington (on the U.S./Canada border) to Mexico. On this 1,478 mile trip, he burned 12.4 gallons of fuel in a record-breaking 119.1 mpg car. He had plans to sell the car commercially, but that didn’t pan out for him and his partner, Bill Green. So, he kept the car, worked on perfecting it, improving the power train and making it more aerodynamic. In order to keep its weight down, the Avion is built with an aluminum monocoque frame with steel front/rear crash and suspension sub frames, allowing it to tip the scale at just 1,500 lb. Its wind tunnel-shaped body is made of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass that is riveted and bonded in place, making its structure very stiff. Mounted behind the driver is its 800-cc diesel engine, and the rear wheels are powered through a five-speed gearbox. Since it’s so light weight and offers low-resistance aerodynamics, the Avion only need 3 to 4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace. Henderson also secured a sponsorship from Goodyear – he used their low rolling resistance “Fuel Max” tires which help him reached 115 mpg averages. It turned it into a promotional stunt, starting from the U.S./Canadian border and driving all the way to the Mexican border without filling up.
Henderson’s odyssey started on August 29th. He drove the entire length of Interstate 5, only stopping for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep. When he reached his destination near Chula Vista, he’d burned an officially measured 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg fuel economy. His journey broke the 103 mpg Guinness world record the car had set on the same border to border run in 1986.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 210,752
Washington State Man Drives 1,400 Miles without Refueling
Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Wash., which is about 90 miles north of Seattle, planned to drive his home-built car from the Canadian border to Mexico without stopping for fuel. Before leaving on Aug. 29, he’d carefully calculated that his streamlined car could travel the more than 1,400 miles on 14 gallons of diesel. Of course, things didn’t go exactly as planned. By the time Mr. Henderson arrived at the border at Tijuana three days later, the bright-red coupe, called the Avion, had used only 12.4 gallons of fuel, for an average of 119.1 miles per gallon. “I could have driven halfway back,” Mr. Henderson said in a telephone interview. “I’m very, very happy,” he said, sounding breathless but relieved. “We proved it’s not a fluke. We didn’t just break our old record, we smashed it.” The Avion earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1986 during a similar drive from Canada to Mexico at an average 103.7 miles per gallon. Designed and built by Mr. Henderson and his friend and fellow engineer Bill Green, the Avion – French for airplane – has a fiberglass exterior and gullwing-style doors that swing up and out from the body. There is room for only two adults. A 3-cylinder diesel engine from a Smart For two is mounted behind the passenger compartment. Power is delivered to the rear wheels using a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission. During this most recent trip, driven in a nearly straight line south along Interstate 5, the Avion had no trouble beating its old record. The total driving time was 29 hours 28
September 2, 2010
VPM: 309,639
Avion Green Car Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank
And it wasn’t even a big tank. The Avion prototype developed in 1984 achieved 119.1 mpg average in a marathon drive completed yesterday, motoring from near Blaine, Washington to the Mexican border by Chula Vista, California. Innovator Craig Henderson stopped for food and lodging, though he didn’t refill the 12.4-gallon tank. The car is powered by an 800cc diesel engine, and it benefits from light weight, slippery aerodynamics, and Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires--the original equipment tire on the 2010 Ford Fusion S, 2010 Toyota Prius, 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Henderson claims just 3 to 6 horsepower is needed to maintain highway speeds. "The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes," said Henderson. Back in 1986, the Avion set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 103.7-mpg average driving from Mexico to British Columbia, Canada. With this latest feat proving the remarkable fuel efficiency, it is a shame the car wasn’t entered into the Automotive X Prize competition, which is offering $10 million in prize money to the cars that can achieve 100 MPGE and meet minimal production requirements. The winners of the X Prize will be announced in mid September. Henderson is tooling up for a limited production run.
September 2, 2010
VPM: 278,931
Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
A man named Craig Henderson recently achieved the remarkable feat of driving from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on just one tank of gas. Using a prototype car called the Avion, which he developed with a partner in 1984 and has been continually making better ever since, he drove from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico without refueling, consuming 12.4 gallons of diesel fuel over the course of the 1,384 mile trip, giving him a Guinness record-shattering border-to-border 119.1 MPG. (The previous record of 103 MPG had actually been set by the same car in 1986.) Jalopnik fills us in on the specs that made it possible: The car is built with two things in mind: weight and aerodynamics. To achieve a featherweight 1500-lb target, it uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel front/rear crash and suspension subframes. To the frame a slippery wind tunnel-shaped body made of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass is riveted and bonded in place, yielding a very stiff structure. An 800-cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and the rear wheels are powered through a five-speed gearbox. With such light weight and low-resistance aerodynamics, the car only requires 3-4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace, perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along just sipping fuel. Henderson recently got sponsorship from Goodyear and tossed on a set of their low rolling resistance “Fuel Max” tires and has been seeing 115 mpg averages. As a promotional stunt, he decided to set off from the US/Canadian border at Blaine, Washinton and drive all the way to the Mexican border without filling up. Border-toborder on one tank.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 237,944
The Avion: Driving From Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons of Gas
No one cared about fuel economy in the '80s. I drove a used six-cylinder Datsun that got terrible mileage, especially as driven by a high-school boy, where you needed to see if you could hit 85 m.p.h. on the way to the grocery store. But I was easily able to fill the tank on busboy wages, as gas was 99 cents per gallon, cheaper than soda. Nevertheless, in 1984 inventors Craig Henderson and Bill Green developed the Avion, a hand-built car that hit an astonishing high of 113 miles per gallon in test runs. It wasn't intended to be a "green" car; the duo set out to build a high-performance sports car, but by using manufacturing techniques "more closely related to small airplane construction than steel stamped automobiles"--composite materials are used widely throughout--the Avion achieved absurdly low mileage even though it used a standard Chrysler fourcylinder engine. Henderson drove it from Mexico to Canada while averaging 103 miles per gallon. After 20 years, Henderson is now trying to break his high-mileage record; he's dusted off the Avion, updated the engine and tires, and is attempting to drive from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on only a single 14-gallon tank full of gas. Henderson departed from Blaine, Washington yesterday, and is Tweeting his updates here. While he hopes the Avion and his trip will draw attention to just how possible highefficiency automobiles are, Henderson is well aware of the challenges he faces beyond the drive: "It's one thing to build a car that gets 100 miles per gallon," he says. "It's another thing to build a company that builds that car."
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 170,261
Goodyear Henderson
Washington State native Craig Henderson stands with his custom-built car, the Avion, at the US Border with Mexico after completing a more than 1,400-mile journey from the Canadian border on one tank of gas. Henderson attributes his record-setting fuel economy of 119.1 MPG to the Avions aerodynamic shape, light weight and low rolling resistance Fuel Max tires from Goodyear. (PRNewsFoto/Goodyear)
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 157,279
Bellingham Man's Car Goes from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Bellingham resident Craig Henderson has driven the car he built in the 1980s from Canada to Mexico on one tank of diesel, getting an average of 119.1 miles per gallon, he said, and shattering the old record the car set back in 1986. Henderson started his border-to-border drive Sunday, Aug. 29, from Blaine. He finished Wednesday, Sept. 1. Known as the Avion, his sleek, red car covered 1,478 miles on 12.41 gallons of fuel, he said. "Not bad, huh?" Henderson said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. The average speed on the journey was 55 mph. The car weighs 1,500 pounds. By comparison, a 2010 Toyota Prius weighs 3,042 pounds, according to the company. Before embarking on his most recent border-to-border trip, Henderson said he swapped out the car's engine and replaced the tires with ones donated by Goodyear that were expected to add 4 percent to the car's fuel economy.
Henderson said he had the results certified by Alex Marr, a past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Henderson's lightweight car had 14 gallons of diesel when he departed Sunday. The owner of Bullfrog Boats and a Western Washington University alumnus, Henderson created the Avion with friend Bill Green in 1984 while both studied at the school's Vehicle Research Institute. Two years later, the duo drove the car from the U.S./Mexico border to Vancouver, B.C. averaging 103.7 miles per gallon and fueling their drive into the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2008, the car bested that fuel-efficiency record by getting an average of 113.1 miles per gallon on a drive from Bellingham to the Oregon border. The most recent drive was for fun and also a personal quest to break previous records held by the car, according to Henderson. Not that he wouldn't mind if something more happened. "If we can influence the car manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient cars, I will have done my part for the planet," he said. Henderson said he and Green, who teaches industrial design at Virginia Tech, also wanted to show that you didn't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to fuel-efficient vehicles. "We're just using current technology," he said.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 154,002
Posted in: Cars From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
Turns out you don’t need to be in an electric vehicle to point fingers and laugh at people waiting in gas stations. Craig Henderson, a Washington state native, went from the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington to Mexico on one tank of gas or 12.4 gallons of diesel. Henderson made the 1,478 mile journey along 1-5 in a 1984 car that he built by himself called Avion. The car’s aluminum frame and carbon fiber body helped give it an extraordinary 119.1 miles per gallon. This 1,500-pound vehicle uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear and is literally as light and aerodynamic as they come. The body is made from carbon fiber and fiberglass and the car uses a 800cc diesel engine. It needs about three to four horsepower to maintain a 55 mph speed. Goodyear’s low rolling resistance Fuel Max tires helped chug the car along. The Henderson once wanted to mass-market the Avion, which he built 26 years ago as a prototype, but gave up on his commercial dream and got the word-record instead for topping 103 mpg in a car. As of now, the star driver will build a couple of more Avions for a few interested parties. Clearly, this makes it fairly clear that President Obama’s mandate that cars fleets need to average 35 mpg is extremely achievable. We’re hoping some larger car manufacturer picks up on Craig’s model and expands on it. As Henderson told the News Tribune, “It’s kind of funny … these are two guys who did this. Why can’t Detroit do this?”
September 2, 2010
Visitors per Month: 150,253
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Talk about hypermiling (you know, that way of driving which allows you not to burn fuel like crazy). An American entrepreneur with lots of spare time at his disposal and the willingness to prove a point completed this week a 1,400-mile trip from where Canada ends to where Mexico begins on a single tank of fuel. Now, the car he used is not the regular vehicle you find at your local Chevy dealer, but a custom-built vehicle called Avion (in some languages, that means airplane, coincidentally).
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 141,078
From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Fuel
When Americans think of ‘green’ automotive technology, few are likely to immediate think of diesel. But the fuel is gaining traction in the U.S. as automakers focus on ways to cost efficiently boost fleet-wide fuel economy. In what may perfectly illustrate the promise of diesel, Craig Henderson drove from Canada to Mexico on just 12.4 gallons of diesel fuel. Riding in a light weight and aerodynamic car called the Avion, a vehicle he personally designed back in 1984, Henderson achieved 119 miles per gallon on this 1,478 mile journey. He didn’t even need to stop to refuel. Powering this car is an 800cc diesel engine that’s transversely mounted behind the driver. The body utilizes a range of lightweight materials, including carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass. Thanks to its aerodynamic sheet metal, the Avion can easily maintain highway speeds without a powerful engine. Even the tires have a low roll resistance to further bolster the Avion’s fuel economy. Henderson left Canada on August 29. Traveling primarily down Interstate 5, he hit the Mexican border a week later. It’s incredible mpg was even recorded by Guinness as a world record. Henderson built the Avion to sell, but the company never got off the ground. Decades later, this trip has ignited a renewed interest in building and selling the vehicle.
September 5, 2010
VPM: 124,785
Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon. More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That’s right; Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384-mile trip. Oh yeah, and the car was constructed in 1984. As Jalopnik explains, Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green, as a prototype he hoped to sell. Their commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion, fine-tuning its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. Thanks to its aluminum monocoque frame, the Avion weighs in at just 1500 pounds, and its sleek, aerodynamic body is crafted from carbon, kevlar and fiberglass. As a result, the Avion needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-per-hour speed, while a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance ‘Fuel Max’ tires helps extend its mileage even further
August 30, 2010
VPM: 123,448
To Mexico on a Tank of Gas Record? Tacoma Native Heads Out
Craig Henderson expects to spend $42 on gas during his roughly 1,400-mile drive from Blaine to Tijuana, Mexico. He might even have change left over. The Tacoma native built a lightweight, aerodynamic sports car back in 1984 and named his masterpiece the Avion. In 1986, he set a world record for fuel economy at 103.7 miles per gallon driving from Mexico to the Canadian border. "I'm about to break it," Henderson said Sunday during a quick stop in Tacoma. He got behind the wheel Sunday morning at his Bellingham home and drove to Blaine. He's counting those extra miles in the journey. Henderson's plan is to take Interstate 5 all the way south, driving no faster than 60 mph and stopping for the night in various cities, such as Portland and Redding and Fresno, Calif. Goodyear Tires is sponsoring the trip as a way to promote its Assurance Fuel Max tires, which are on Henderson's car. He expects to use 14 gallons of fuel, which he is carrying with him. The Avion, if everything goes as planned, should hit the border late Wednesday.
Henderson is unsure what this trip could mean for his world record, but that's not something he's thinking much about. "I want bragging rights," Henderson said. His friend Bill Green styled the red car, and Henderson engineered it. The Avion weighs less than 1,500 pounds and is streamlined so it doesn't disturb the wind. He has no immediate plans to manufacture or sell his design. There is no funding available and the Avion is composed of recycled components, not exactly a product that can be mass-produced with ease.
September 2, 2010
Visitors per Month: 121,131
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Talk about hyper-miling (you know, that way of driving which allows you not to burn fuel like crazy). An American entrepreneur with lots of spare time at his disposal and the willingness to prove a point completed this week a 1,400-mile trip from where Canada ends to where Mexico begins on a single tank of fuel. Now, the car he used is not the regular vehicle you find at your local Chevy dealer, but a custom-built vehicle called Avion (in some languages, that means “airplane,” coincidentally). The Avion, a lightweight sports car (powered by a 800 cc diesel engine, just so you know), managed to complete the trip with an average of 119.1 mpg (1.97l/100 km). Or, if you like, it did the whole North to South trip with only 12.4 gallons of fuel. The man who built and drove the car, Craig Henderson, managed to beat two of his previous records, set in the same car, several times, since 1986. What made the difference this time was the use of new technologies, including Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires. With their 27 percent improvement in rolling resistance, or 4 percent better fuel economy than in previous versions of the tires, smashing the old record was a child's play. "The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes," Henderson said after achieving the task. "The Goodyear Fuel Max tires help provides the fuel savings we wanted, and with the confidence of knowing we will have excellent wet and dry traction."
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 102,037
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank
Energy efficiency has only recently become a popular concern among vehicle owners, but some people have been thinking about it for a long, long time. Craig Henderson and Bill Green designed the Avion, a fuel-efficient sports car, in 1984. Two years later, the vehicle set the Guinness World Record for fuel economy, getting an average of 103.7 mpg all the way from the Mexico border to the British Columbia, Canada border. Now Henderson has revived the Avion for another jaunt from Canada to Mexico. The latest iteration of the vehicle is just 1500 pounds and features an aluminum monocoque frame, a carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass body, and Goodyear "Fuel Max" tires. After receiving a sponsorship deal from Goodyear, Henderson decided to go from border to border once again--this time, on a single tank of gas. Jalopnik reports that Henderson began his latest journey on August 29th. He stopped only to go to the bathroom, grab food, and catch a night's rest. The result: Henderson burned only 12.4 gallons on his journey to the Mexican border for a fuel economy of 119.1 mpg, breaking his own Guinness World Record from 1986. (He drove at a pretty constant 55 mph.) Henderson is gearing up for limited commercial production of the Avion. If our fascination with fuel economy is any indication, he won't have any trouble selling it.
September 7, 2010
VPM: 80,533
Goodyear: 1,400 Miles on One Tank of Gas
Goodyear has announced that it managed to drive for 1,400 miles on just 1 tank of gas. The journey started from Canada and went south all the way to Mexico. The one tank of gas journey from Canada to Mexico was done by Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, which of course, is equipped with Goodyear tires with Fuel Max Technology. The documented mpg figure of the Avion was 119.1 miles per gallon, which means the 1,400 mile journey was done with just 12.4 gallons of fuel! The part the Goodyear tires played in all this is that they help reduce the energy loss as the tires roll through a Fuel-Saving Tread Compound. Goodyear says their new tires can save average motorists 2,600 miles worth of gas over the life of a set of tires. The car that went from Canada to Mexico on one tank of gas is lightweight and aerodynamic and was first developed by Henderson and co-designer Bill Green in 1984.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 73,804
Avion Sets New Mileage Record at 119.1 MPG
On September 1st, American driver Craig Henderson completed a 1,478-mile trip behind the wheel of his Avion car using only 46.98 liters (12.41 US gallons) of diesel; the equivalent of 1.975 liters per 100 kilometers (119.1 mpg). This remarkable feat helped him break two of his previous records. Even more incredible is the design of the Avion, which dates back to 1984! Breaking a 24-year-old record Henderson, an engineer, left his Tacoma (WA) home on August 29th to fill up in Blaine, a small town located near the Canadian border. With a full 53-liter (14 gallons) tank, he then headed south on Interstate 5. His plan? To reach Tijuana, at the Mexican border, without ever stopping for fuel. Henderson maintained an average speed of 88.5 km/h (55 mi/h). Obviously, his venture created quite a buzz and media folks in cities like Portland, Redding and Fresno were waiting for him along the way. The famous hyper miler knew the route pretty well. In 1986, he set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 2.27 L/100 km (103.7 mpg) driving the entire West Coast between Mexico and British Columbia. Two years ago, he did it again, improving his mark to 2.08 L/100 km (113.1 mpg) as he drove from Bellingham (near the Canadian border) to Portland (OR).
September 12, 2010
Visitors per Month: 72,436
For Real Fuel Economy, Forget the Prius and go for the 1984 Avion
Craig Henderson recently navigated the 1,478 mile trip from Blaine, Washington, to the Mexican border on a single tank of gas. So what kind of fantastical futuristic supercar was this man driving? Some cutting-edge Ford concept vehicle years away from the commercial market?! No. In fact, Henderson was driving a home-made car from 1984. Read that again. 1984! Contrary to the boastful language of car commercials, fuel efficiency wasn’t discovered last week. But it wasn’t chic for car companies back then, so Henderson and his business partner Bill Green never could put together commercial plans for this vehicle, the Avion. The car succeeds because it’s lightweight (just 1,500 pounds -- half the weight of a Prius) and aerodynamic, so its 800-cc diesel engine needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a pace of 55 miles per hour (the modern Prius engine is nearly 2000-cc and requires nearly 100 horsepower). Using modern Goodyear "Fuel Max" tires (Goodyear recently signed on as a sponsor for Henderson), the Avion has clocked average fuel efficiencies of 115 miles per gallon (a figure roughly 50% better than the best recorded Toyota Prius fuel efficiency). Add it all up and the Avion is far superior to the Prius, on paper. Sure, it's fully gas-powered so it's not really as superficially environmental as a car that can occasionally go electric but hey, MONEY SAVED. The man drove from Canada to Mexico on 12.4 gallons of diesel fuel! In a car that was conceived before I was! Hopefully, this becomes bigger news in coming months, as Henderson plans to build the car in limited quantities. Let's hope the price is right.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 65,507
Marathon Gas-Saving Car Trip Boosted by Goodyear's Fuel Max Tires
Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, completed a border-to- border drive from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas with the help of the efficient Goodyear Fuel Max tires. Henderson from Bellingham, Wash. began the drive on Aug. 29 near Blaine, Wash., heading south to the Mexican border near Chula Vista, Ca. He made the 1,400-mile journey getting 119.1 miles per gallon, using 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. Henderson stopped for food and overnight lodging – but no refueling – as he piloted the aerodynamic car primarily on the north-south Interstate 5.
Helping the car to achieve the milestone was Assurance Fuel Max tires, featuring the company's Fuel-Saving Tread Compound that helps reduce energy loss as the tires roll, saving an average motorist 2,600 miles worth of gas over the life of a set of tires, according to brand manager Razvan Bosomoiu. "This is a remarkable accomplishment, when you think of the number of fill- ups a typical driver would have to make during such a long trip," says Bosomoiu. "Compared to regular passenger car tires, the Fuel Max helps the Avion roll more easily and achieve fuel mileage improvements."
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 60,973
The Avion: on a Journey to Prove it is Still the World's Most Efficient Car
An extremely efficient car, the Avion will attempt to travel from Blaine, Washington to the Mexico border using merely 14 gallons of fuel. The Avion was invented by Bill Green and Craig Henderson in 1984. That year, the car was able to average 113 miles per gallon in its test runs. Two years later, the Avion set the world record for fuel efficiency by averaging 103.7 mpg on a trip from Bellingham, Washington to the Oregon state-line. This current journey could produce the Avion's third world record. Henderson and Green have modified the vehicle and provided it with a more aerodynamic shell, new tires, and an updated engine.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 36,253
From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Diesel
Full View Craig Henderson drove from Blaine, Washington to the Mexican border — a distance of 1,478 miles — without stopping to refuel. He burned 12.4 gallons for a record-breaking 119.1 mpg in a car he originally designed in 1984. The Avion is a car Craig Henderson originally built with partner Bill Green way back in 1984 as a prototype for a high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. Commercial plans never came to fruition, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he's kept tinkering with it, improving its power train and aerodynamics along the way. With such light weight and low-resistance aerodynamics, the car only requires 3-4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace, perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along just sipping fuel. Henderson recently got sponsorship from Goodyear and tossed on a set of their low rolling resistance "Fuel Max" tires and has been seeing 115 mpg averages. As a promotional stunt, he decided to set off from the US/Canadian border at Blaine, Washington and drive all the way to the Mexican border without filling up. The development on the Avion isn't over either. He's got plans to restart his dream of building the car in limited quantities and it's competing in the Progressive Automotive XPrize, which seeks to reward work on next-generation fuel-efficient vehicles. It speaks volumes that this car was built 26 years ago and with a little modification can manage such impressive fuel economy still to this day. Amazing what some added lightness and aerodynamics can accomplish. Henderson started off on August 29th and essentially drove the entire length of Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep overnight. When he arrived at the Mexican border near Chula Vista, he'd burned an officially measured 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg fuel economy. The run actually broke the 103 mpg Guinness world record the car had set on the same border to border run in 1986.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 29,042
Lightweight Avion travels 1,478 miles on 12.4 gallons of diesel; that's 119.1 mpg!
Craig Henderson piloted his 1,500-pound, diesel-powered Avion from Blaine WA, to Mexico – a 1,478-mile journey – and he burned just 12.4 gallons of fuel along the way. Some simple math shows that this featherweight vehicle achieved an astounding 119.1 miles per gallon, but the mileage numbers don't tell the whole story. Henderson and partner Bill Green began designing the Avion in 1984. They set out to build a prototype high-mileage vehicle and sell it to the public. The business floundered, but Henderson couldn't let his work on the Avion be for naught. He tinkered for years and made modifications that reduced the vehicle's weight and improved its aerodynamics. The end result tips the scales at just 1,500 pounds and packs a puny, 800cc diesel engine. Due to the Avion's light weight and enhanced aerodynamics, a scant four horsepower is required to maintain speeds of 55 miles per hour. Henderson organized the run from Washington to Mexico as a promotional stunt to showcase the vehicle's abilities. On August 29th, Henderson fired up the Avion and took to the roads. His 1,478-mile trip ended three days later near Chula Vista, CA and eclipsed the Avion's own record-setting result of 103 mpg back in 1986. In 2008, the car managed 113.1 mpg. The car was entered (and then dropped out of) the Automotive X-Prizebut Henderson's promotional run has renewed his interest in selling the Avion. We're inclined to believe that this mileage champ could win buyers over on its fuel-sipping abilities alone.
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 27,530
Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Gas
Recently, a guy named Craig Henderson drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that he designed. It is listed as a Guinness World record breaking car with 119.1 milesper-gallon. That’s a long way to drive on a gallon of gas. A normal car these days that’s considered to get great gas mileage gets about 25 miles-per-gallon highway average. This car was originally constructed in 1984. Henderson has been almost constantly modifying the car to make it run better and better. He travelled from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on his trip. This trip took him a little while, but he made it in under a tank of gas, using 12.4 gallons of diesel along the entire 1,384-mile trip. Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green. He designed it as a prototype he hoped to sell. They commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion. He fine-tuned its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. The automobile has a aluminum conocoque frame. The Avion weighs in at just 1,500 pounds. Its sleek and aerodynamic body is constructed from carbon, fiberglass and kevlar. The Avion requires only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-per-hour speed. It’s outfitted with a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance “Fuel Max” tires which help extend its mileage even further. There’s not really any reason why the commercial aspect of the Avion shouldn’t work out, it probably just didn’t fit right with the oil companies, and the commercial auto makers probably just wanted to stay on their good side. Hopefully, cars like this will become more known in the future, and more attention will be placed on them.
September 12, 2010
Visitors per Month: 27,083
WWU Grad Makes it to Mexico on One Tank
Bellingham resident Craig Henderson completed a 1,400-mile drive from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas last week. Henderson's custom-built car, the Avion, is powered by an 800 cc diesel motor. It used 12.4 gallons over the course of the trip, averaging 119.1 mpg at 55 mph. Henderson, a Western Washington University grad, took a similar trip in 1986, setting a world record for mileage.
August 31, 2010
Visitors per Month: 24,212
Man Drives Car That Gets 100+ Miles per Gallon
A Washington man says he's got a car that gets more than 100 miles per gallon. He's driving the car from border to border, Canada to Mexico, to prove it. Craig Henderson says he built the car 25 years ago as a college project. He went border to border then, getting 103.7 miles per gallon. Now he's trying to break his own record, "It's a personal goal. It's something I always wanted to do, to prove that it really did happen." Henderson says between Washington and Redding he has averaged about 113 miles per gallon this trip. For people who think he has done something special, he has. Henderson says the "Avion," as he calls it, is shaped like an arrow which improves aerodynamics. It is also reasonably light, weighing in at 1,500 pounds and it has Goodyear low rolling resistance fuel max tires on it.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 14,098
Bellingham Man Driving to Mexico on Single Tank of Gas
Hybrid vehicles, step aside…a Bellingham inventor is hoping to push the bounds of highmileage driving with a Canada-to-Mexico drive on a single tank of fuel. Craig Henderson says he first built his one hundred plus mile per gallon car, dubbed the “Avion,” more than 25 years ago. Back in 1986, Henderson set the Guinness World Record for ‘Longest Fuel Range’ driving the lightweight Avion from Mexico to Canada. Henderson says with a newer standard engine and new “Fuel Max” tires from Goodyear, he’s hoping to break his old record. The Avion took off from Blaine Sunday morning, and is expected to cruise into Tijuana on Wednesday.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 11,557
Avion Car Company
The key to the Avion is design: they’re using lightweight, composite materials (carbon fiber, Kevlar, "S"-Glass) and experimental aerodynamics to increase performance and fuel efficiency in an otherwise standard diesel-powered car (four-wheel disks, independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering). The Avion utilizes a monocoque 6061 aluminum chassis and features semi-gull wing doors. Thus far they report having achieved 114 mpg driving at 55 mph. Goal: The Avion team—and the vehicle itself—has been around a while. In that time they have established a reputation for design innovation that contributes directly to increased fuel efficiency. Consequently, their goal is to bring the Avion vehicle to market. Leader: Craig Henderson. In 1986, Henderson drove the original Avion vehicle—which doesn’t differ a whole lot from the car the team’s bringing to the X-Prize—a total of 1,759 miles, averaging 103.7 mpg, a feat that landed him in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records for “longest fuel range. According to the team’s web site, Henderson broke his own record in the Avion this past October. Financial backing: Craig Henderson, Bullfrog Boats, Goodyear (tires), Canton Bandag Company
September 2, 2010
Visitors Per Month: 11,159
Goodyear Fuel Max Goes Border to Border
A Washington man recently drove from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas and Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires, according to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, completed the more than 1,400mile trek this past weekend. "Helping the car to achieve this milestone was a set of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires, featuring a Fuel-Saving Tread Compound." The Avion is powered by an 800 cc diesel motor. Henderson says he drove the car at around 55 miles per hour, contending with "regular traffic volumes." The Avion, he adds, consumed just 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. The Assurance Fuel Max is available in 32 sizes and covers about 80% of the passenger car market, according to Goodyear.
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon . More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That’s right, Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384-mile trip
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Goodyear Fuel Max Goes From Canada to Mexico
A Washington man recently drove from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas and Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires, according to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, completed the more than 1,400-mile plus trek this past weekend. The Avion is powered by an 800cc diesel motor. Henderson says he drove the car at around 55 miles per hour, contending with "regular traffic volumes." The Avion, he adds, consumed just 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. The Assurance Fuel Max is available in 32 sizes and covers about 80% of the passenger car market, according to Goodyear.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from Blaine, Washington to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984. Henderson rolled into Chula Vista, California, at the wheel of the Avion four days after he left home. The Avion is a car he built with Bill Green 26 years ago as a prototype high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. The business floundered, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he’s kept tinkering with it, improving its powertrain and aerodynamics. The car was built with two things in mind: Light weight and aerodynamics. To hit the featherweight 1,500-pound target, the car uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear. The body, of carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass, is riveted and bonded to the body, yielding a very stiff vehicle. An 800cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and powers the rear wheels through a five-speed gearbox.
Because it’s so light and aerodynamic, the car needs just three to four horsepower to maintain 55 mph. That’s perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along while only sipping fuel. Henderson recently landed a sponsorship from Goodyear, so he’s installed a set of the company’s low rolling resistance Fuel Max tires and has been averaging about 115 mpg. As a promotional stunt, Henderson decided to make a run for the border — the Mexican border. He planned to make the trip on one tank. He hit the road on Aug. 29 and stuck largely to Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep. When he rolled up to the border near Chulla Vista on Wednesday he’d burned 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg. That topped the 103 mpg the car achieved, and Guinness classified as a world record — during a similar border-to-border run in 1986. The trip is done, but development of the Avion continues. Henderson plans to revisit his dream of producing the car in limited quantities.
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Save This Car More than Motor
This may sound strange, even beyond reasonable logic. An American businessman is making cars with fuel consumption which is even more efficient than 4 stroke motorcycle that hit in Indonesia. With lots of free time he had and the willingness to prove teririt car, he made a car called the Avion. This car is a sports car that has a lightweight body and use a 800cc diesel engine. Avion or which means “flight” began the journey 1400 miles from Canada and ending in Mexico, by using only one tank of fuel. The car successfully completed the trip with an average fuel consumption of 119.1 mpg or only about 1.97 liters for 100 kilometers. People who build and drive a car, Craig Henderson, had defeated two previous records, with the same car, several times since 1986. But what makes the difference with today is the use of new technology, including Fuel Max tires Goodyear Assurance that uses advanced technology that makes fuel economy. “Goodyear’s Fuel Max tires help provide fuel savings that we want, and this tire has a very good ability on the track wet and dry.” Henderson said. “Avion has reached 113 miles per gallon at an average speed of 55-60 miles per hour or about 48 km per liter during the first test. With the volume of daily traffic,” Henderson said after ending his journey. Toto Prayogo
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Taking Avion 2200 km Only With One Tank
It took the Avion 2200 km with only one tank, starting from Canada down to the final point in Mexico with a distance of more than 2200 km. But the car that he used instead of an ordinary Chevy can’t be found at local dealers.
But using a vehicle that has been modified so-called Avion which coincidentally was the name means the aircraft. Avion's light vehicles, sports cars are powered by 800cc diesel engine was successfully completed the trip with an average of 119.1 mpg (1.971/100 km). Or in other words if the car is traveling from North to South America requires only 12.4 gallons of fuel. People who build and drive this car is Craig Henderson. Through this record-Henderson has managed to beat two previous records with the same car in 1986. But what makes the difference today is the use of new technologies, which include a new technology called the tire Goodyear Fuel Max Assurance. With a 27 percent increase or 4 percent better fuel consumption than the previous version of the first tire that has a record when Henderson was a kid. Avion has reached 113 miles per gallon to 55-60 miles per hour in trials. For this trip, our average speed of 55 miles per hour and argued with the usual traffic volume," Henderson said after doing his duty was. "Fuel Max tires Goodyear Assurance helps provide fuel savings that we want and with confidence we know that will have very good traction even in wet or dry conditions," continued Henderson
September 2, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Avion sets new mileage record at 119.1 MPG
On September 1st, American driver Craig Henderson completed a 1,478-mile trip behind the wheel of his Avion car using only 46.98 liters (12.41 US gallons) of diesel — the equivalent of 1.975 liters per 100 kilometers (119.1 mpg)! This remarkable feat helped him break two of his previous records. Even more incredible is the design of the Avion, which dates back to 1984! Breaking a 24-year-old record, Henderson, an engineer, left his Tacoma (WA) home on August 29th to fill up in Blaine, a small town located near the Canadian border. With a full 53-litre (14 gallons) tank, he then headed south on Interstate 5. His plan? To reach Tijuana, at the Mexican border, without ever stopping for fuel. Henderson maintained an average speed of 88.5 km/h (55 mi/h). Obviously, his venture created quite a buzz and media folks in cities like Portland, Redding and Fresno were waiting for him along the way. The famous hyper miler knew the route pretty well. In 1986, he set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 2.27 L/100 km (103.7 mpg) driving the entire West Coast between Mexico and British Columbia. Two years ago, he did it again, improving his mark to 2.08 L/100 km (113.1 mpg) as he drove from Bellingham (near the Canadian border) to Portland (OR).
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Avion Custom Car Travels 1400 Miles on 12 Gallons; Goodyear Fuel Max Tires Credited
Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Washington, drove his custom-built Avion automobile from the US-Canada border to the US-Mexico border on a single tank of diesel fuel. Akron-based Goodyear and Henderson report that the journey extended over 1400 miles, that Henderson managed to get 119.1 miles per gallon, and that his Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires played a significant role in his achievement. He used only 12.4 gallons of fuel on the trip from Blaine, Washington, on the Canadian border, to the Mexican border near Chula Vista, California. Henderson made stops for overnight lodging but did not refuel. The lightweight, aerodynamic Avion has been around since 1984 and has set records in the past. The Avion uses an 800 cc diesel engine. Henderson built the original Avion with co-designer Bill Green; it has never been mass produced. Henderson said, "The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes. The Goodyear Fuel Max tires help provides the fuel savings we wanted, and with the confidence of knowing we will have excellent wet and dry traction." Goodyear brand manager Razvan Bosomoiu points out that the Fuel Max tire is available in sizes that fit 80% of cars on the road today. Goodyear estimates that these tires deliver 4% fuel economy to buyers, saving 2,600 miles worth of fuel per set of tires.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,673
Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Craig Henderson piloted his 1,500 pound, diesel-powered Avion from Blaine WA, to Mexico - a 1,478-mile journey - and he burned just 12.4 gallons of fuel along the way. Some simple math shows that this featherweight vehicle achieved an astounding 119.1 miles per gallon, but the mileage numbers don’t tell the whole story. Henderson and partner Bill Green began designing the Avion in 1984. They set out to build a prototype high-mileage vehicle and sell it to the public. The business floundered, but Henderson couldn’t let his work on the Avion be for naught. He tinkered for years and made modifications that reduced the vehicle’s weight and improved its aerodynamics. The end result tips the scales at just 1,500 pounds and packs a puny, 800cc diesel engine. Due to the Avion’s light weight and enhanced aerodynamics, a scant four horsepower is required to maintain speeds of 55 miles per hour. Henderson organized the run from Washington to Mexico as a promotional stunt to showcase the vehicle’s abilities. On August 29th, Henderson fired up the Avion and took to the roads. His 1,478-mile trip ended three days later near Chula Vista, CA and eclipsed the Avion’s own record-setting result of 103 mpg back in 1986. In 2008, the car managed 113.1 mpg. The car was entered (and then dropped out of) the Automotive X-Prize but Henderson’s promotional run has renewed his interest in selling the Avion. We’re inclined to believe that this mileage champ could win buyers over on its fuel-sipping abilities alone.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,658
Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Filed under: Diesel , MPG , Green Daily , Lightweight Craig Henderson piloted his 1,500-pound, diesel-powered Avion from Blaine WA, to Mexico – a 1,478-mile journey – and he burned just 12.4 gallons of fuel along the way. Some simple math shows that this featherweight vehicle achieved an astounding 119.1 miles per gallon, but the mileage numbers don’t tell the whole story. Henderson and partner Bill Green began designing the Avion in 1984. They set out to build a prototype high-mileage vehicle and sell it to the public.
September 6, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,652
Goodyear Tires Help Record-Setting Border-to-Border Run
A Bellingham, Wash., man, with a custom car, a set of tires and one tank of gas; That’s all it took to travel from Canada to Mexico, a three-day border-to-border drive that ended yesterday near Chula Vista, Calif. Craig Henderson and his custom-built, Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max-shod car, the Avion, completed the more than 1,400-mile journey with a documented 119.1 miles per gallon, using 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. He began the drive on Aug. 29 near Blaine, Wash., heading south to the Mexican border, stopping only for food and overnight lodging. “This is a remarkable accomplishment, when you think of the number of fill-ups a typical driver would have to make during such a long trip,” said Razvan Bosomoiu, Goodyear brand manager. “Compared to regular passenger car tires, the Fuel Max helps the Avion roll more easily and achieve fuel mileage improvements.” Henderson’s fuel sipping sports car is lightweight and aerodynamic, and it has previously set fuel efficiency records. The original model was built by Henderson and codesigner Bill Green in 1984, but mass production was never achieved. The current version of the Avion is powered by an 800 cc diesel motor. “The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes,” said Henderson. “The Goodyear Fuel Max tires help provide the fuel savings we wanted, and with the confidence of knowing we will have excellent wet and dry traction.”
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,559
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from Blaine, Washington to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 500
Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon. More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That's right, Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384mile trip. Oh yeah, and the car was constructed in 1984. As Jalopnik explains, Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green, as a prototype he hoped to sell. Their commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion, fine-tuning its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. Thanks to its aluminum monocoque frame, the Avion weighs in at just 1500 pounds, and its sleek, aerodynamic body is crafted from carbon, kevlar and fiberglass. As a result, the Avion needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-per-hour speed, while a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance 'Fuel Max' tires helps extend its mileage even further. Even after having completed this border-to-border feat, Henderson isn't done tinkering with his creation. The roadster is still pursuing his dream of producing the Avion on a larger scale. And, judging from this recent accomplishment, he probably won't have a hard time finding interested buyers.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 500
Ultra-Efficient Avion to Go from Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons
Fuel efficiency may have only become a hot topic recently, but some people have been thinking about with hypermiling vehicles for decades. Take, for example, inventors Bill Green and Craig Henderson; In 1984 the pair built a car dubbed the “Avion“, which squeezed out 113 mpg in test runs. Now it’s going back on the road in an attempt to travel from Canada to Mexico on just 14 gallons of gas.
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 500
A 1984 Designed Diesel Avion Returns 119.1 MPG in 1478 Miles
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from from Blaine, Washington, to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984. Henderson rolled into Chula Vista, California, at the wheel of the Avion four days after he left home. The Avion is a car he built with Bill Green 26 years ago as a prototype high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. The business floundered, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he’s kept tinkering with it, improving its powertrain and aerodynamics. The car was built with two things in mind: light weight and aerodynamics. To hit the featherweight 1,500-pound target, the car uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear. The body — of carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass — is riveted and bonded to the body, yielding a very stiff vehicle. An 800cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and powers the rear wheels through a five-speed gearbox. Because it’s so light and aerodynamic, the car needs just three to four horsepower to maintain 55 mph. That’s perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along while only sipping fuel. Henderson recently landed a sponsorship from Goodyear, so he’s installed a set of the company’s low-rolling resistance Fuel Max tires and has been averaging about 115 mpg.
Border to Border on One Tank of Fuel
Goodyear Fuel Max Border to Border Run
Website Hits
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Return of The Avion Car
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Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/3/2010
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Gather
Bellingham Man Breaks Own Fuel Economy Record
9/5/2010
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Signon San Diego
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/3/2010
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Fast Company
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record Video of custom Avion auto that averaged 119.1 miles per gallon on 1400 mile trip Western Washington Grad Bound for Mexico on a Tank of Gas
9/7/2010
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Examiner
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Seattle Times
8/30/2010
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Seattle Times
How 100 MPG Cars Work
9/13/2010
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Mother Earth News
The Avion Goes 100+ MPG from Canada to Mexico Washington State Man Drives 1,400 Miles without Refueling Lightweight Avion travels 1,478 miles on 12.4 gallons of diesel; that's 119.1 mpg! From Canada To Mexico On One Tank of Diesel Bellingham man's car goes from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
9/3/2010
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New York Times
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AOL AutoBlog
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Jalopnik
9/3/2010
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News Tribune
9/3/2010
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News Tribune
Bellingham man Breaks Fuel Record Washington Man Hopes to Drive His Homemade Car to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel Trip goal: Border to border on 14 gallons
9/3/2010
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King5
8/30/2010
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UPI
8/30/2010
NDTV
He Drove 1400 Miles without Refueling
9/9/2010
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Gas Buddy
Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
9/5/2010
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Mother Nature Network
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
9/12/2010
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Redding
Washington Man Shoots for 100 or More MPG
8/31/2010
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Seattle Weekly
Craig Henderson Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
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Auto Guide
One Tank of Gas from Canada to Mexico
9/11/2020
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Automedia
Avion Green Car Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas The Avion: Driving From Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons of Gas
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Geekosystem
9/2/2010
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Daily Me
Goodyear Henderson
9/8/2010
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Bellingham Herald
Bellingham man's car goes from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel Posted in: Cars From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
9/4/2010
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Alttransport
9/3/2010
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One News Page
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/2/2010
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Auto in the News
From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Fuel Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record To Mexico on a Tank of Gas Record? Tacoma Native Heads Out
9/3/2010
http://www.autointhenews.com/from-canada-tomexico-on-a-single-tank-of-fuel/
Tech News Daily
9/5/2010
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The Olympian
8/30/2010
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Auto Evolution
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
9/2/2010
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Money Talks
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank
9/7/2010
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ZerCustoms
Goodyear: 1,400 Miles on One Tank of Gas
9/7/2010
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Auto123
Avion Sets New Mileage Record at 119.1 MPG
9/3/2010
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Bundle
For Real Fuel Economy, Forget the Prius and go for the 1984 Avion Marathon Gas-Saving Car Trip Boosted by Goodyear's Fuel Max Tires The Avion: on a Journey to Prove it is Still the World's Most Efficient Car
9/12/2010
Search Auto Parts
9/8/2010
Energy Boom
8/30/2010
OverOll
From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
9/9/2010
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Damego
Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Gas
9/4/2010
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NW Autos
WWU Grad Makes it to Mexico on One Tank
9/12/2010
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KRCRTV
Man Drives Car That Gets 100+ Miles per Gallon
8/31/2010
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KGMI
Bellingham Man Driving to Mexico on Single Tank of Gas
9/3/2010
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Future Cars
Avion Car Company
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Goodyear Fuel Max Goes Border to Border
9/2/2010
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TechBump
Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record Goodyear Fuel Max Goes From Canada to Mexico
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Autosphere
9/3/2010
Budez
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
9/3/2010
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ToTo Site
Save This Car More than Motor
9/7/2010
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Car Mild
Taking Avion 2200 km Only With One Tank
9/5/2010
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La Bonne Route
Avion sets new mileage record at 119.1 MPG Avion Custom Car Travels 1400 Miles on 12 Gallons; Goodyear Fuel Max Tires Credited Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel Goodyear Tires Help Record-Setting Border-toBorder Run
9/2,2010
http://labonneroute.com/index,view.spy?ARTID=12 2502
Free Republic
9/7/2010
Avion Custom Car Travels 1400 Miles on 12 Gallons; Goodyear Fuel Max Tires Credited
Auto Green
9/9/2010
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Auto Den
9/8/2010
Topof
9/6/2010
http://koleso.topof.ru/en/news.php?pID=7270
Car Buzz
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
9/3/2010
http://www.carzbuzz.com/story/from-canada-tomexico-on-124-gallons-of-diesel
Joom Cool
Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Ultra-Efficient Avion to Go from Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons A 1984 Designed Diesel Avion Returns 119.1 MPG in 1478 Miles
9/9/2010
http://www.joomcool.com/forums/showthread.php? 28170-Craig-Henderson-s-Canada-to-Mexico-Driveon-One-Tank-of-Gas-Sets-World-Record http://www.choicevacuums.com/living-green-blogposts/ultra-efficient-avion-to-go-from-canada-tomexico-on-14-gallons/
Choice Vacuums
8/30/2010
My Desultory Blog
9/5/2010
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September 16, 2010
Visitors per Month: 8,539,588
Return Of The Avion Car
The Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Voltand the Toyota Prius dominate today's fuel-efficient news stories, but other vehicles are quietly making their mark on the industry. One such vehicle is the Avion. Although the Avion doesn't have the name recognition that the Prius does, the vehicle has been making fuel efficiency news for more than two decades. Last month, Craig Henderson, one of the designers of the Avion, began a Canada-toMexico drive. During this trip, Henderson avoided all of the tourist traps and instead stopped only to use the restroom, eat and sleep. This was a man on a mission and not a man out for a scenic drive. The mission was to drive from Canada to Mexico on one tank of gas while achieving a fuel efficiency of over 100 mpg, for the second time. That's right, the second time. In 1984 Henderson and his partner Bill Green designed the first Avion. In 1986 the vehicle made it from the Mexican border to the Canadian border averaging 103.7 mpg for the trip. This set a Guinness World Record for fuel efficiency. The team had plans to bring the Avion to market, but unfortunately fuel efficiency wasn't at the forefront of everyone's mind at the time and the vehicle never made it into production. Fast forward 24 years and Henderson took a similar journey, this time from Canada to Mexico in a new and improved Avion. The new vehicle weighs in at 1,500 pounds thanks to a high-tech design, which features carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar and aluminum. As
an added bonus, the vehicle is designed to maximize the use of recycled automotive parts. The trip with the new and improved Avion only used 12.4 gallons of gasoline, which equals an average fuel economy of 119.1 mpg. Now Henderson feels the market is ready for the Avion. Henderson has plans to bring the Avion to market in a limited production run. Specific details aren't yet available, but Avion's 100MPGPlus.com website will be updated as more information becomes available.
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 3,292,633
Bellingham Man Breaks Own Fuel Economy Record
Craig Henderson told the world late last week that he broke his own world record for fuel economy. The Bellingham man did it driving an updated version of the Avion sports car he designed and drove for his first record-making attempt. Henderson's trek ran from Blaine, WA, a town on the Canadian border, to the Mexican border. The Bellingham Record notes that he started on Sunday. During the trip, Henderson reported an average of 119.1 mpg. In 1986, he set the record of 103.7 mpg. He took three days to travel 1,478 miles. The Avion sports car used 12.4 gallons of gas. The Bellingham man had estimated that he'd use 14 of the 19 gallons he started with. Henderson's fuel economy record-breaking Avion sports car was built as a custom project by himself and a friend 25 years ago. They used recycled car parts and installed a diesel engine. The body is designed to reduce drag, a large factor in fuel economy. When he first set the economy record in 1986, not many people were interested in an economical car. He brought the Avion back this week to show that it can be done. And it's hard not to agree with Henderson when he says, "It's kind of funny... these are two guys who did this. Why can't Detroit do this?" For those of us feeling the bite at the pump, that question is more timely than ever. As for the Avion, its website reports that they are gearing up to sell a limited production run of the car. No word on its cost yet, but odds are the fuel economy record-breaking car will not be a cost economy record setter.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 2,928,133
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
A Washington State man who built his own fuel-efficient car 25 years ago repeated his feat of driving border-to-border on a single tank of diesel this week. "I smashed my old record," Craig Henderson said shortly after arriving at an Otay Mesa parking lot just across the Mexican border Wednesday. He said the aerodynamic car, which he calls Avion, averaged 119 mpg on its journey from Canada to San Diego. His old record was 103. The key was an aerodynamic, lightweight design and tires with low rolling resistance from Goodyear, which sponsored the trip. The car weighs 1,500 pounds and has an 18-gallon fuel tank. To achieve the high mileage, Henderson drove 55 to 60 mph. Henderson, of Bellingham, Wash., initially built the car hoping he could get a manufacturer to produce a commercial version.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,680,286
From Canada To Mexico On One Tank of Diesel
Craig Henderson drove from Blaine, Washington to the Mexican border — a distance of 1,478 miles — without stopping to refuel. He burned 12.4 gallons for a record-breaking 119.1 mpg in a car he originally designed in 1984. The Avion is a car Craig Henderson originally built with partner Bill Green way back in 1984 as a prototype for a high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. Commercial plans never came to fruition, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he's kept tinkering with it, improving its powertrain and aerodynamics along the way.
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,860,147
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank
By Ariel Schwartz Energy efficiency has only recently become a popular concern among vehicle owners, but some people have been thinking about it for a long, long time. Craig Henderson and Bill Green designed the Avion, a fuel-efficient sports car, in 1984. Two years later, the vehicle set the Guinness World Record for fuel economy, getting an average of 103.7 mpg all the way from the Mexico border to the British Columbia, Canada border. Now Henderson has revived the Avion for another jaunt from Canada to Mexico. The latest iteration of the vehicle is just 1500 pounds and features an aluminum monocoque frame, a carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass body, and Goodyear "Fuel Max" tires. After receiving a sponsorship deal from Goodyear, Henderson decided to go from border to border once again--this time, on a single tank of gas. Jalopnik reports that Henderson began his latest journey on August 29th. He stopped only to go to the bathroom, grab food, and catch a night's rest. The result: Henderson burned only 12.4 gallons on his journey to the Mexican border for a fuel economy of 119.1 mpg, breaking his own Guinness World Record from 1986. (He drove at a pretty constant 55 mph.) Henderson is gearing up for limited commercial production of the Avion. If our fascination with fuel economy is any indication, he won't have any trouble selling it.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,053,990
Western Washington Grad Bound for Mexico on a Tank of Gas
Craig Henderson is back on the road, hoping to drive from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on about 14 gallons of fuel. He set out Sunday, believing he can better his performance from 1986, when on a similar trip, Henderson's specially engineered car grabbed the Guinness world record for mileage, getting an average of 103.7 miles per gallon. During this trip — expected to take three to four days down Interstate 5 — he'll try to keep the speedometer at 60 mph, and thinks he'll arrive in Mexico with fuel to spare. Henderson, 53, built the car soon after graduating from Western Washington University, with fellow alum Bill Green. Around an engine from a Volkswagen diesel, they fashioned a car with a frame of lightweight aluminum. It weighs less than 1,500 pounds, sits just 43 inches high, and requires only 3 to 6 horsepower to maintain highway speed. There are no air bags, but it does have a new stereo and leather seats. "It's a sports car, my own creation," Henderson said.
The car can carry two people and has trunk space for two sets of golf clubs, said Henderson, who said he has no plans to mass produce the car because he doesn't have the money. Still, he hopes car manufacturers will take note. Henderson figures he's spent about $30,000 on the car and recently put $12,000 more into it with a new motor. After his record-breaking drive, the car went into storage in a barn, where mice invaded and it fell into disrepair. But recently Henderson, the president of a Bellingham boatdesign company, found himself with some extra time and an offer from Goodyear to pay his expenses if he tried the company's low gas mileage tires. "This is me trying to break my own record," he said. The drive is sponsored by Goodyear, which sent along a public-relations person and paid for the trip, including $42 for fuel.
The car is built with two things in mind: weight and aerodynamics. To achieve a featherweight 1500-lb target, it uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel front/rear crash and suspension subframes. To the frame a slippery wind tunnel-shaped body made of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass is riveted and bonded in place, yielding a very stiff structure. An 800-cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and the rear wheels are powered through a five-speed gearbox.
With such light weight and low-resistance aerodynamics, the car only requires 3-4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace, perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along just sipping fuel. Henderson recently got sponsorship from Goodyear and tossed on a set of their low rolling resistance "Fuel Max" tires and has been seeing 115 mpg averages. As a promotional stunt, he decided to set off from the US/Canadian border at Blaine, way to the Mexican border without filling up. Border-to-border on one tank.
Henderson started off on August 29th and essentially drove the entire length of Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep overnight. When he arrived at the Mexican border near Chula Vista, he'd burned an officially measured 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg fuel economy. The run actually broke the 103 mpg Guinness world record the car had set on the same border to border run in 1986.
The development on the Avion isn't over either. He's got plans to restart his dream of building the car in limited quantities. It speaks volumes that this car was built 26 years ago and with a little modification can manage such impressive fuel economy still to this day. Amazing what some added lightness and aerodynamics can accomplish.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,400,078
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from Blaine, Washington, to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984. Henderson rolled into Chula Vista, California, at the wheel of the Avion four days after he left home. The Avion is a car he built with Bill Green 26 years ago as a prototype high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. The business floundered, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he’s kept tinkering with it, improving its power train and aerodynamics. The car was built with two things in mind: light weight and aerodynamics. To hit the featherweight 1,500-pound target, the car uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear. The body of carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass is riveted and bonded to the body, yielding a very stiff vehicle. An 800cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and powers the rear wheels through a five-speed gearbox. Because it’s so light and aerodynamic, the car needs just three to four horsepower to maintain 55 mph. That’s perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along while only sipping fuel. Henderson recently landed a sponsorship from Goodyear, so he’s installed a set of the company’s low-rolling resistance Fuel Max tires and has been averaging about 115 mpg.
As a promotional stunt, Henderson decided to make a run for the border, the Mexican border. He planned to make the trip on one tank. He hit the road on Aug. 29 and stuck largely to Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep. When he rolled up to the border near Chula Vista on Wednesday he’d burned 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg. That topped the 103 mpg the car achieved, and Guinness classified as a world record — during a similar border-to-border run in 1986. The trip is done, but development of the Avion continues. Henderson plans to revisit his dream of producing the car in limited quantities.
September 13, 2010
Visitors per Month: 2,053,990
How 100 MPG Cars Work
Recently a car drove from the Canadian border in Washington all the way down to the Mexican border in California on I-5. That's nearly 1,500 miles. What was amazing about the trip was the fact that the car burned only 12.4 gallons of fuel. The car got an average of 119 miles per gallon. This was not a weird experimental car made out of tissue paper, with the driver lying in a prone position looking out through a periscope. This was a real, two-passenger car that looks pretty normal. The car, called the Avion, proved once and for all that it is possible to create 100 MPG cars that can drive on real roads under real conditions. What's even more amazing is the fact that the car was not created by a university research team or NASA scientists. The car was originally created in the 1980s by Craig Henderson and Bill Green and has been tweaked ever since. It brings up a good question — How can our cars get more miles per gallon of fuel? Let's look at the different techniques that the Avion uses. The most important feature of the Avion is its aerodynamics. Air flow has a huge effect on a car's fuel efficiency, especially at highway speeds. A typical car might need 10 to 20 horsepower to maintain a highway speed. The Avion needs far less horsepower — down in the 3 to 4 horsepower range — to achieve the same speeds. The reason the Avion is so slippery is that it takes into account the major sources of drag in conventional cars and eliminates them. A big part of it is the shape of the rear of the car. Think about a raindrop. It has a bulbous nose and a long, sloping tail. The longer tail is important, so the Avion's rear end looks a lot like a raindrop's. The Avion is also a low car. Many of today's cars (especially SUVs and minivans) are taller than a person. That means the car has to move a lot of air out of the way as it goes down the road. The Avion is built like a low sports car, so there is less air to move. In a conventional car there are lots of extra sources of drag. The underside of a conventional car is all bumpy, with many extraneous pieces catching the wind. It is possible to make the underside smooth like a race car and eliminate most of this air
resistance. There is a big, vertical grill up front in most cars acting like a wall to the wind. Spoked wheels chop at the air. The Avion addresses all of these problems. It is low, has no grill and has smooth hub caps and a smooth underside. Another kind of drag comes from the rolling resistance of the tires. Big, fat tires with low air pressure create a lot of resistance. The Avion used lowresistance tires on its trip. Many hybrids are using these tires as well to improve their performance. Another thing helping the Avion is its weight. It is made of aluminum and other lightweight materials so that it weighs half as much as a normal car. The weight helps whenever accelerating or going up a hill. Think about the amount of energy needed to get a Ping-Pong ball going 5 mph. Now compare that to the energy needed to get a bowling ball going the same speed. The PingPong ball requires the slightest touch. The bowling ball requires a big push. In a car, extra weight means extra fuel being burned every time you climb a hill. And then there's the engine. The Avion uses a tiny diesel engine that is smaller than the engine found on many motorcycles. It doesn't need a giant engine because the car is so light and so slippery. The fact that it is a diesel also helps. Diesel fuel contains more energy than gasoline per gallon, so that helps right from the start. And a diesel engine uses a higher compression ratio, making it more efficient. By putting all of these things together — great aerodynamics, great tires, low weight and the most efficient engine possible — it is possible to create a car with great mileage. With luck, these techniques will trickle into mainstream cars now that they have been proven to work.
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,665,348
Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon. More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That's right, Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384-mile trip. Oh yeah, and the car was constructed in 1984. As Jalopnik explains, Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green, as a prototype he hoped to sell. Their commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion, fine-tuning its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. Thanks to its aluminum monocoque frame, the Avion weighs in at just 1500 pounds, and its sleek, aerodynamic body is crafted from carbon, kevlar and fiberglass. As a result, the Avion needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-perhour speed, while a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance 'Fuel Max' tires helps extend its mileage even further. Even after having completed this border-to-border feat, Henderson isn't done tinkering with his creation. The roadster is still pursuing his dream of producing the Avion on a larger scale. And, judging from this recent accomplishment, he probably won't have a hard time finding interested buyers.
September 6, 2010
VPM: 1,426,950
Video of custom Avion auto that averaged 119.1 miles per gallon on 1400 mile trip
Craig Henderson and Bill Green designed and built the Avion, a custom car that breaks fuel efficiency records, back in 1984; Henderson drove the Avion over 1400 miles on 12.4 gallons during a trip that ended a couple days ago. Attached below is a video from The Dori Monson Show, KIRO RADIO, that gives an idea of what the Avion looks like -- it's only 42 inches high, it's streamlined to the extreme, it's built more like an airplane than a car, and the driver sits about 6 inches off the ground. While the Avion is not available for home use, it gives people an picture of what is possible with streamlined engineering and lightweight materials. Henderson used Fuel Max tires from local tire giant Goodyear which undoubtedly helped achieve the spectacular mileage -- see this recent article: Henderson's Avion gets 119.1 MPG. Goodyear reports that the Fuel Max brand tires that Henderson used are available for 80% of the cars on the road today and they can increase fuel efficiency by 4%, reducing fuel requirements by 2,600 miles per set of tires. They're available at Goodyear tire stores throughout the Cleveland area.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 379,896
Craig Henderson Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
Craig Henderson started his odyssey near the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, in a high-mileage prototype he built in 1984 called the Avion. He ended it in Mexico, after traveling nearly 1,500 miles along I-5. And in between he didn't have to fill up once. Henderson once had plans to mass-market the Avion. His dreams of commercial success never went anywhere. But he kept tinkering until he had a world-record holder on his hands. With an aluminum frame and carbon fiber body, the Avion is about as light and aerodynamic as you can get for a roadster, two factors that helped Henderson get an incredible 119 miles per gallon on his trip. Henderson says he has plans to build a couple Avions in a limited production run. In the meantime he'll focus on his other hobby: driving past gas stations whilst giggling uncontrollably.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,705,844
Washington Man Hopes to Drive His Homemade Car to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Craig Henderson glides through the streets of his hometown, behind the wheel of his greatest creation. "Twenty-five years ago I had the dreams that I would be, well, the John DeLorean of Bellingham," he said. It's hard to believe it's been that long since Craig built the Avion. He's put his blood, sweat and tears have into this aerodynamic prototype that's sleek, stylish and a bit futuristic. But Craig and his wife say the real magic of the Avion can be felt at the gas pump. Craig says he can drive his car from Canada to Mexico on 14 gallons of fuel. "It's possible to get 100 miles per gallon without a flex or a Mr. Fusion machine," he said. With the backing of Goodyear tires, Craig will hit the road in Blaine and travel all the way to Mexico. He wants to break his own 1986 record at 103 miles to the gallon, and he also wants people to think about their own driving habits. "We don't need to reinvent the whole thing we just have to be better at what we're doing. A little streamlining a little lightweight, you know Humvees don't get good gas mileage cause it's like a brick," he said. And who knows? Maybe Craig's dreams of being the "DeLorean of Bellingham" -- will come true after all. "We'll stir it up and see what happens, maybe Daddy Warbucks will see this and come up and want to finance it," he said.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,497,578
Bellingham man's car goes from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
Bellingham resident Craig Henderson has driven the car he built in the 1980s from Canada to Mexico on one tank of diesel, getting an average of 119.1 miles per gallon, he said, and shattering the old record the car set back in 1986. Henderson started his border-to-border drive Sunday, Aug. 29, from Blaine. He finished Wednesday, Sept. 1. Known as the Avion, his sleek, red car covered 1,478 miles on 12.41 gallons of fuel, he said. "Not bad, huh?" Henderson said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. The average speed on the journey was 55 mph. The car weighs 1,500 pounds. By comparison, a 2010 Toyota Prius weighs 3,042 pounds, according to the company. Before embarking on his most recent border-to-border trip, Henderson said he swapped out the car's engine and replaced the tires with ones donated by Goodyear that were expected to add 4 percent to the car's fuel economy. Henderson said he had the results certified by Alex Marr, a past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Henderson's lightweight car had 14 gallons of diesel when he departed Sunday.
The owner of Bullfrog Boats and a Western Washington University alumnus, Henderson created the Avion with friend Bill Green in 1984 while both studied at the school's Vehicle Research Institute. Two years later, the duo drove the car from the U.S./Mexico border to Vancouver, B.C. averaging 103.7 miles per gallon and fueling their drive into the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2008, the car bested that fuel-efficiency record by getting an average of 113.1 miles per gallon on a drive from Bellingham to the Oregon border. The most recent drive was for fun and also a personal quest to break previous records held by the car, according to Henderson. Not that he wouldn't mind if something more happened. "If we can influence the car manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient cars, I will have done my part for the planet," he said. Henderson said he and Green, who teaches industrial design at Virginia Tech, also wanted to show that you didn't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to fuel-efficient vehicles. "We're just using current technology," he said.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,497,578
Bellingham man Breaks Fuel Record
Craig Henderson said Thursday he broke his world record for fuel economy, proving again that his aerodynamic Avion sports car can drive from border to border on a single tank of gas. The Tacoma native started the venture Sunday, determined to show the car he built 25 years ago gets the most miles per gallon of any vehicle . Over the 1,478-mile drive from Blaine to the Mexican border, Henderson said, he averaged 119.1 mpg. His 1986 world record was 103.7 mpg. “I had butterflies for a while in my stomach thinking, ‘Are we going to make it? Is it going to break down?’ ” Henderson said Thursday. “All those things were going through my head.” He steered the Avion to the Mexican border about 6 p.m. Wednesday. Henderson said he enjoyed the journey but will be shipping his car home to Bellingham rather than putting more miles on it. He said that during the three-day trip the car used 12.4 gallons of gas. He had anticipated using about 14, though he brought 19 gallons with him. Henderson and a friend designed and built the Avion 25 years ago, using recycled car parts and installing a small diesel engine. “It’s kind of funny … these are two guys who did this,” Henderson said. “Why can’t Detroit do this?”
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,303,725
Trip goal: Border to Border on 14 Gallons
An inventor says he will drive an ultra light car he built down the length of the U.S. West Coast on 14 gallons of gas. Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Wash., told The (Tacoma) News Tribune he expects to spend $42 on fuel in his 1,400-mile drive from Blaine, Wash., on the Canadian border to Tijuana, Mexico. He built the aerodynamic sports car, which weighs less than 1,500 pounds, in 1984 and named it the Avion. In 1986, he set a world record for fuel economy at 103.7 miles per gallon driving from Mexico to Canada. Henderson intends to take Interstate 5 all the way south, driving no faster than 60 mph. Goodyear is sponsoring the trip to promote its Assurance Fuel Max tires, which are on the car. He expects to use 14 gallons of fuel, which he is carrying with him. The Avion should hit the Mexican border Wednesday. Henderson is unsure what this trip could mean for his record, but that's not the point. "It's a personal thing," Henderson said. "I want bragging rights."
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 924,486
He Drove 1,400 Miles without Refueling
Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Washington, which is about 90 miles north of Seattle, planned to drive his home-built car from the Canadian border to the Mexican border without stopping for fuel. Before leaving on August 29, he'd carefully calculated that his streamlined car could travel the nearly 1,400 miles on 14 gallons of diesel. Of course, things didn't go exactly as planned. When Mr. Henderson arrived at the border at Tijuana three days later, the bright-red coupe had completed the voyage, albeit after using only 12.4 gallons of fuel, at an average of 119.1 miles per gallon. "I could have driven halfway back," Mr. Henderson said in a telephone interview after completing the drive. I'm very, very happy," he said, sounding breathless but relieved. "We proved it's not a fluke. We didn't just break our old record, we smashed it." The Avion earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1986 during a similar drive from Canada to Mexico at an average 103.7 miles per gallon. Designed and built by Mr. Henderson and his friend and fellow engineer Bill Green, the car is called the Avion - French for airplane.
The car has a fiberglass exterior and gullwing-style doors that swing up and out from the body. There is room for only two adults. A 3-cylinder diesel engine from a Smart For-two is mounted behind the passenger compartment. Power is delivered to the rear wheels using a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission. During this most recent trip - driven in a nearly straight line south along Interstate 5 - the Avion had no trouble beating its old record. The total driving time took 29 hours and 28 minutes. Stops were made for food and rest, but never fuel. "People gave lots of thumbs-up and cell phones were out snapping pictures," Mr. Henderson said. The only hiccup came almost within site of the finish, during a grueling traffic jam in San Diego. "I was thinking, this won't work if I crash," Mr. Henderson said. Two years ago he drove the car, a slightly updated version (he enlarged the gas tank from 10 gallons to 17) of the original Avion, at an average of 113.1 miles per gallon from the Canadian border to the Oregon line. But with corporate sponsorship from Goodyear that got him new tires, Mr. Henderson's ambitions turned back to a run along the length of the West Coast. "It's great to get a sponsor to help do this," he said. Mr. Henderson says work has already begun on a second Avion.
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 821,244
Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel
San Diego Union Tribune -- A Washington State man who built his own fuel-efficient car 25 years ago repeated his feat of driving border-to-border on a single tank of diesel this week. "I smashed my old record," Craig Henderson said shortly after arriving at an Otay Mesa parking lot just across the Mexican border Wednesday. He said the aerodynamic car, which he calls Avion, averaged 119 mpg on its journey from Canada to San Diego. His old record was 103. The key was an aerodynamic, lightweight design and tires with low rolling resistance from Goodyear, which sponsored the trip. The car weighs 1,500 pounds and has an 18-gallon fuel tank. To achieve the high mileage, Henderson drove 55 to 60 mph.
September 12, 2010
Visitors per Month: 745,705
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
The Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, and the Toyota Prius dominate today’s fuel-efficient news stories, but other vehicles are quietly making their mark on the industry. One such vehicle is the Avion. Although the Avion doesn’t have the name recognition that the Prius does, the vehicle has been making fuel efficiency news for more than two decades. What started in the 1980s is continuing today. On Aug. 29, 2010, Craig Henderson, one of the designers of the Avion, began a Canadato-Mexico drive. During this trip, Henderson avoided all of the tourist traps and instead stopped only to use the restroom, eat and sleep. This was a man on a mission and not a man out for a scenic drive. The mission was to drive from Canada to Mexico on one tank of gas while achieving a fuel efficiency of over 100 mpg, for the second time. That’s right, the second time. In 1984, Henderson and his partner Bill Green designed the first Avion. In 1986, the vehicle made it from the Mexican border to the Canadian border averaging 103.7 mpg for the trip. This set a Guinness World Record for fuel efficiency. The team had plans to bring the Avion to market, but unfortunately fuel efficiency wasn’t at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the time and the vehicle never made it into production status. Fast forward 24 years and Henderson took a similar journey, this time from Canada to Mexico in a new and improved Avion. The new vehicle weighs in at 1,500 pounds thanks to a high-tech design, which features carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar and aluminum. As an added bonus, the vehicle is designed to maximize the use of recycled automotive parts. The trip with the new and improved Avion only used 12.4 gallons of gasoline, which equals an average fuel economy of 119.1 mpg. Now Henderson feels the market is ready for the Avion. Henderson has plans to bring the Avion to market in a limited production run. Specific details aren’t yet available, but Avion’s 100MPGPlus.com website will be updated as more information becomes available.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 733,382
The Avion Goes 100+ MPG from Canada to Mexico
Craig Henderson is my hero. He was an automotive technology student at Western Washington University when he and his friend, Bill Green, designed and built the Avion. Other than paint and graphics, it doesn't look much different than it did in 1986, when it first broke 100 mpg on the highway. Well heck, who cared back then? We had plenty of gasoline in the pipeline and gas was a cheap as firewood. The Guinness folks gave them a world record (103 mpg) and they considered building a kit, but in those consumptuous times, nobody wanted an ecofreako-dorkmobile no matter how cool it looked. So Craig put the Avion under a tarp for 20 years and founded Bullfrog Boats to hone his fabrication skills. Fast forward to today. Energy is an issue again and the Avion is no longer ahead of its time, it's right on schedule. Craig built another Avion with a modern engine, from a diesel Smart Car, and made a set of molds so he can crank out more car bodies if the world calls for Avions — and how better to get the world calling than another long distance record attempt; from Canada to Mexico on one tank of fuel. He found a sponsor
to pick up the travel tab, and so the Avion Economy in Motion Border to Border Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max Challenge was born (sponsored by Goodyear, in the name of its Assurance Fuel Max tires. Craig set out from the Canadian border crossing at Blaine, Washington, on Sunday morning, August 29, and reached the California/Mexico border on Wednesday, September 1. He was accompanied by an SUV containing an engineer to handle the fuel, and a publicist to handle the press. For MOTHER EARTH NEWS this is a major story, right? Well worth sending Ace Reporter, Yours Truly, to the front lines, right? We were geared up to follow the Avion, me and MAX, the full 1,400 miles from start to finish ... until a month ago when we were asked not to go. That may seem an odd decision. None of the other press reps were interested enough to track them from initial fueling to final measurement of the dregs, and you'd think they'd want somebody around to say “I was there and yes they did it.” To avoid speculation, I asked the publicist for an explanation I could quote, and here it is: "Craig wanted to focus on the Avion breaking his old record, he wasn't interested in doing the Border to Border run with MAX or any other vehicle. He just wants to achieve his dream of doing a solo run to smash his old record." I can relate to that. I'll be driving MAX to the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in Pennsylvania in a couple weeks and I'm looking forward to doing it solo; just me, MAX, and a sleeping bag. I might not enjoy the trip as much if some newsguy was hanging around documenting it. But I did connect briefly with the Avion team, near the halfway point, in Redding, California, where I saw the Avion live for the first time. I didn't learn much I couldn't learn off their Twitter page (“Portland, OR to Redding, CA - 117.0 MPG “ at the time, and their latest tweet says “1478 Miles using only 12.41 Gallons of Fuel. 119.1 MPG”) but it was enough to leave me impressed. I'll tell you, in an open road economy contest, the Avion would wax MAX. Their best leg was Redding to Fresno, claimed at 129 MPG, and MAX is still in double digits. Also the Avion looks gorgeous, like a small quantity production car, whereas even the kindest spectator would call MAX a work in progress. All in all, the Avion is the better car, as well it should be for five times the money, but if you get one, you'll be getting what you pay for.
Craig intends to put out an Avion kit at around $30,000, plus you'll need a diesel Smart Car (not an easy acquisition in America) and some other odds and ends, and you'll have a car that gives you every reason to feel smug as you cruise down the road. My hat's off to Craig, for sticking to his dreams and making one heck of a car, and maybe next year we can do a Three Flags Econo Rally. If that comes to fruition, I'll be honored if MAX comes in second to the Avion. I'm also interested in checking out Fuel Max tires, so I'll probably be talking with their publicist again. According to Goodyear, these tires can add 4% to your mileage, and when you're nibbling at triple digit MPG, 4% looks like a lot.
August 31, 2010
Visitors Per Month: 487,584
Washington Man Shoots for 100 or More MPG
Craig Henderson is trying to go far on one 14-gallon tank of diesel - more than 1,000 miles, from the Canadian to Mexican borders. Driving the Avion, a futuristic looking red roadster that reminded me of Speed Racer's ride, Henderson said he aims to average better than 103 miles per gallon as he made a pit stop into the Record Searchlight's parking lot this morning. Henderson, 53, of Bellingham, Wash., built the car in his idle time as a young plastics engineer in the 1980s. In 1986 he said he set a Guinness World Record for miles per gallon driving from Mexico to Canada, averaging 103 mpg. Driven by an 800 cc, 3-cylinder engine that puts out 67 horsepower, Henderson said the keys to the car's high mpg are its aerodynamics and light weight - less than 1,500 pounds. This drive, which is part of a promotion by Goodyear Tire, Henderson said he has also has the company's Fuel Max tires to further bump up his mpg by four percent. He started Sunday, plans to be in Fresno tonight and at the Mexican border Wednesday. Henderson said his biggest worry about his trip is running into traffic jams. "You don't get good mileage stopped," he said.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 379,896
Craig Henderson Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
Craig Henderson started his odyssey near the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, in a high-mileage prototype he built in 1984 called the Avion. He ended it in Mexico, after traveling nearly 1,500 miles along I-5. And in between he didn't have to fill up once. Henderson once had plans to mass-market the Avion. His dreams of commercial success never went anywhere. But he kept tinkering until he had a world-record holder on his hands. With an aluminum frame and carbon fiber body, the Avion is about as light and aerodynamic as you can get for a roadster, two factors that helped Henderson get an incredible 119 miles per gallon on his trip. Henderson says he has plans to build a couple Avions in a limited production run. In the meantime he'll focus on his other hobby: driving past gas stations whilst giggling uncontrollably.
September 11, 2010
Visitors per Month: 354,212
One Tank of Gas from Canada to Mexico
Making a pit stop on a road trip can eat up a lot of driving time. Perhaps that’s that drove Craig Henderson to create the Avion, a high-mileage vehicle that he drove from Canada to Mexico without stopping for gas. Henderson took his prototype, which he helped build in 1984, from Blaine, Washington (on the U.S./Canada border) to Mexico. On this 1,478 mile trip, he burned 12.4 gallons of fuel in a record-breaking 119.1 mpg car. He had plans to sell the car commercially, but that didn’t pan out for him and his partner, Bill Green. So, he kept the car, worked on perfecting it, improving the power train and making it more aerodynamic. In order to keep its weight down, the Avion is built with an aluminum monocoque frame with steel front/rear crash and suspension sub frames, allowing it to tip the scale at just 1,500 lb. Its wind tunnel-shaped body is made of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass that is riveted and bonded in place, making its structure very stiff. Mounted behind the driver is its 800-cc diesel engine, and the rear wheels are powered through a five-speed gearbox. Since it’s so light weight and offers low-resistance aerodynamics, the Avion only need 3 to 4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace. Henderson also secured a sponsorship from Goodyear – he used their low rolling resistance “Fuel Max” tires which help him reached 115 mpg averages. It turned it into a promotional stunt, starting from the U.S./Canadian border and driving all the way to the Mexican border without filling up.
Henderson’s odyssey started on August 29th. He drove the entire length of Interstate 5, only stopping for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep. When he reached his destination near Chula Vista, he’d burned an officially measured 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg fuel economy. His journey broke the 103 mpg Guinness world record the car had set on the same border to border run in 1986.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 210,752
Washington State Man Drives 1,400 Miles without Refueling
Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Wash., which is about 90 miles north of Seattle, planned to drive his home-built car from the Canadian border to Mexico without stopping for fuel. Before leaving on Aug. 29, he’d carefully calculated that his streamlined car could travel the more than 1,400 miles on 14 gallons of diesel. Of course, things didn’t go exactly as planned. By the time Mr. Henderson arrived at the border at Tijuana three days later, the bright-red coupe, called the Avion, had used only 12.4 gallons of fuel, for an average of 119.1 miles per gallon. “I could have driven halfway back,” Mr. Henderson said in a telephone interview. “I’m very, very happy,” he said, sounding breathless but relieved. “We proved it’s not a fluke. We didn’t just break our old record, we smashed it.” The Avion earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1986 during a similar drive from Canada to Mexico at an average 103.7 miles per gallon. Designed and built by Mr. Henderson and his friend and fellow engineer Bill Green, the Avion – French for airplane – has a fiberglass exterior and gullwing-style doors that swing up and out from the body. There is room for only two adults. A 3-cylinder diesel engine from a Smart For two is mounted behind the passenger compartment. Power is delivered to the rear wheels using a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission. During this most recent trip, driven in a nearly straight line south along Interstate 5, the Avion had no trouble beating its old record. The total driving time was 29 hours 28
September 2, 2010
VPM: 309,639
Avion Green Car Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank
And it wasn’t even a big tank. The Avion prototype developed in 1984 achieved 119.1 mpg average in a marathon drive completed yesterday, motoring from near Blaine, Washington to the Mexican border by Chula Vista, California. Innovator Craig Henderson stopped for food and lodging, though he didn’t refill the 12.4-gallon tank. The car is powered by an 800cc diesel engine, and it benefits from light weight, slippery aerodynamics, and Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires--the original equipment tire on the 2010 Ford Fusion S, 2010 Toyota Prius, 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Henderson claims just 3 to 6 horsepower is needed to maintain highway speeds. "The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes," said Henderson. Back in 1986, the Avion set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 103.7-mpg average driving from Mexico to British Columbia, Canada. With this latest feat proving the remarkable fuel efficiency, it is a shame the car wasn’t entered into the Automotive X Prize competition, which is offering $10 million in prize money to the cars that can achieve 100 MPGE and meet minimal production requirements. The winners of the X Prize will be announced in mid September. Henderson is tooling up for a limited production run.
September 2, 2010
VPM: 278,931
Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
A man named Craig Henderson recently achieved the remarkable feat of driving from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on just one tank of gas. Using a prototype car called the Avion, which he developed with a partner in 1984 and has been continually making better ever since, he drove from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico without refueling, consuming 12.4 gallons of diesel fuel over the course of the 1,384 mile trip, giving him a Guinness record-shattering border-to-border 119.1 MPG. (The previous record of 103 MPG had actually been set by the same car in 1986.) Jalopnik fills us in on the specs that made it possible: The car is built with two things in mind: weight and aerodynamics. To achieve a featherweight 1500-lb target, it uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel front/rear crash and suspension subframes. To the frame a slippery wind tunnel-shaped body made of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass is riveted and bonded in place, yielding a very stiff structure. An 800-cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and the rear wheels are powered through a five-speed gearbox. With such light weight and low-resistance aerodynamics, the car only requires 3-4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace, perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along just sipping fuel. Henderson recently got sponsorship from Goodyear and tossed on a set of their low rolling resistance “Fuel Max” tires and has been seeing 115 mpg averages. As a promotional stunt, he decided to set off from the US/Canadian border at Blaine, Washinton and drive all the way to the Mexican border without filling up. Border-toborder on one tank.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 237,944
The Avion: Driving From Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons of Gas
No one cared about fuel economy in the '80s. I drove a used six-cylinder Datsun that got terrible mileage, especially as driven by a high-school boy, where you needed to see if you could hit 85 m.p.h. on the way to the grocery store. But I was easily able to fill the tank on busboy wages, as gas was 99 cents per gallon, cheaper than soda. Nevertheless, in 1984 inventors Craig Henderson and Bill Green developed the Avion, a hand-built car that hit an astonishing high of 113 miles per gallon in test runs. It wasn't intended to be a "green" car; the duo set out to build a high-performance sports car, but by using manufacturing techniques "more closely related to small airplane construction than steel stamped automobiles"--composite materials are used widely throughout--the Avion achieved absurdly low mileage even though it used a standard Chrysler fourcylinder engine. Henderson drove it from Mexico to Canada while averaging 103 miles per gallon. After 20 years, Henderson is now trying to break his high-mileage record; he's dusted off the Avion, updated the engine and tires, and is attempting to drive from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on only a single 14-gallon tank full of gas. Henderson departed from Blaine, Washington yesterday, and is Tweeting his updates here. While he hopes the Avion and his trip will draw attention to just how possible highefficiency automobiles are, Henderson is well aware of the challenges he faces beyond the drive: "It's one thing to build a car that gets 100 miles per gallon," he says. "It's another thing to build a company that builds that car."
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 170,261
Goodyear Henderson
Washington State native Craig Henderson stands with his custom-built car, the Avion, at the US Border with Mexico after completing a more than 1,400-mile journey from the Canadian border on one tank of gas. Henderson attributes his record-setting fuel economy of 119.1 MPG to the Avions aerodynamic shape, light weight and low rolling resistance Fuel Max tires from Goodyear. (PRNewsFoto/Goodyear)
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 157,279
Bellingham Man's Car Goes from Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Bellingham resident Craig Henderson has driven the car he built in the 1980s from Canada to Mexico on one tank of diesel, getting an average of 119.1 miles per gallon, he said, and shattering the old record the car set back in 1986. Henderson started his border-to-border drive Sunday, Aug. 29, from Blaine. He finished Wednesday, Sept. 1. Known as the Avion, his sleek, red car covered 1,478 miles on 12.41 gallons of fuel, he said. "Not bad, huh?" Henderson said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. The average speed on the journey was 55 mph. The car weighs 1,500 pounds. By comparison, a 2010 Toyota Prius weighs 3,042 pounds, according to the company. Before embarking on his most recent border-to-border trip, Henderson said he swapped out the car's engine and replaced the tires with ones donated by Goodyear that were expected to add 4 percent to the car's fuel economy.
Henderson said he had the results certified by Alex Marr, a past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Henderson's lightweight car had 14 gallons of diesel when he departed Sunday. The owner of Bullfrog Boats and a Western Washington University alumnus, Henderson created the Avion with friend Bill Green in 1984 while both studied at the school's Vehicle Research Institute. Two years later, the duo drove the car from the U.S./Mexico border to Vancouver, B.C. averaging 103.7 miles per gallon and fueling their drive into the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2008, the car bested that fuel-efficiency record by getting an average of 113.1 miles per gallon on a drive from Bellingham to the Oregon border. The most recent drive was for fun and also a personal quest to break previous records held by the car, according to Henderson. Not that he wouldn't mind if something more happened. "If we can influence the car manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient cars, I will have done my part for the planet," he said. Henderson said he and Green, who teaches industrial design at Virginia Tech, also wanted to show that you didn't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to fuel-efficient vehicles. "We're just using current technology," he said.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 154,002
Posted in: Cars From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Gas
Turns out you don’t need to be in an electric vehicle to point fingers and laugh at people waiting in gas stations. Craig Henderson, a Washington state native, went from the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington to Mexico on one tank of gas or 12.4 gallons of diesel. Henderson made the 1,478 mile journey along 1-5 in a 1984 car that he built by himself called Avion. The car’s aluminum frame and carbon fiber body helped give it an extraordinary 119.1 miles per gallon. This 1,500-pound vehicle uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear and is literally as light and aerodynamic as they come. The body is made from carbon fiber and fiberglass and the car uses a 800cc diesel engine. It needs about three to four horsepower to maintain a 55 mph speed. Goodyear’s low rolling resistance Fuel Max tires helped chug the car along. The Henderson once wanted to mass-market the Avion, which he built 26 years ago as a prototype, but gave up on his commercial dream and got the word-record instead for topping 103 mpg in a car. As of now, the star driver will build a couple of more Avions for a few interested parties. Clearly, this makes it fairly clear that President Obama’s mandate that cars fleets need to average 35 mpg is extremely achievable. We’re hoping some larger car manufacturer picks up on Craig’s model and expands on it. As Henderson told the News Tribune, “It’s kind of funny … these are two guys who did this. Why can’t Detroit do this?”
September 2, 2010
Visitors per Month: 150,253
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Talk about hypermiling (you know, that way of driving which allows you not to burn fuel like crazy). An American entrepreneur with lots of spare time at his disposal and the willingness to prove a point completed this week a 1,400-mile trip from where Canada ends to where Mexico begins on a single tank of fuel. Now, the car he used is not the regular vehicle you find at your local Chevy dealer, but a custom-built vehicle called Avion (in some languages, that means airplane, coincidentally).
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 141,078
From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Fuel
When Americans think of ‘green’ automotive technology, few are likely to immediate think of diesel. But the fuel is gaining traction in the U.S. as automakers focus on ways to cost efficiently boost fleet-wide fuel economy. In what may perfectly illustrate the promise of diesel, Craig Henderson drove from Canada to Mexico on just 12.4 gallons of diesel fuel. Riding in a light weight and aerodynamic car called the Avion, a vehicle he personally designed back in 1984, Henderson achieved 119 miles per gallon on this 1,478 mile journey. He didn’t even need to stop to refuel. Powering this car is an 800cc diesel engine that’s transversely mounted behind the driver. The body utilizes a range of lightweight materials, including carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass. Thanks to its aerodynamic sheet metal, the Avion can easily maintain highway speeds without a powerful engine. Even the tires have a low roll resistance to further bolster the Avion’s fuel economy. Henderson left Canada on August 29. Traveling primarily down Interstate 5, he hit the Mexican border a week later. It’s incredible mpg was even recorded by Guinness as a world record. Henderson built the Avion to sell, but the company never got off the ground. Decades later, this trip has ignited a renewed interest in building and selling the vehicle.
September 5, 2010
VPM: 124,785
Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon. More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That’s right; Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384-mile trip. Oh yeah, and the car was constructed in 1984. As Jalopnik explains, Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green, as a prototype he hoped to sell. Their commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion, fine-tuning its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. Thanks to its aluminum monocoque frame, the Avion weighs in at just 1500 pounds, and its sleek, aerodynamic body is crafted from carbon, kevlar and fiberglass. As a result, the Avion needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-per-hour speed, while a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance ‘Fuel Max’ tires helps extend its mileage even further
August 30, 2010
VPM: 123,448
To Mexico on a Tank of Gas Record? Tacoma Native Heads Out
Craig Henderson expects to spend $42 on gas during his roughly 1,400-mile drive from Blaine to Tijuana, Mexico. He might even have change left over. The Tacoma native built a lightweight, aerodynamic sports car back in 1984 and named his masterpiece the Avion. In 1986, he set a world record for fuel economy at 103.7 miles per gallon driving from Mexico to the Canadian border. "I'm about to break it," Henderson said Sunday during a quick stop in Tacoma. He got behind the wheel Sunday morning at his Bellingham home and drove to Blaine. He's counting those extra miles in the journey. Henderson's plan is to take Interstate 5 all the way south, driving no faster than 60 mph and stopping for the night in various cities, such as Portland and Redding and Fresno, Calif. Goodyear Tires is sponsoring the trip as a way to promote its Assurance Fuel Max tires, which are on Henderson's car. He expects to use 14 gallons of fuel, which he is carrying with him. The Avion, if everything goes as planned, should hit the border late Wednesday.
Henderson is unsure what this trip could mean for his world record, but that's not something he's thinking much about. "I want bragging rights," Henderson said. His friend Bill Green styled the red car, and Henderson engineered it. The Avion weighs less than 1,500 pounds and is streamlined so it doesn't disturb the wind. He has no immediate plans to manufacture or sell his design. There is no funding available and the Avion is composed of recycled components, not exactly a product that can be mass-produced with ease.
September 2, 2010
Visitors per Month: 121,131
Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Fuel
Talk about hyper-miling (you know, that way of driving which allows you not to burn fuel like crazy). An American entrepreneur with lots of spare time at his disposal and the willingness to prove a point completed this week a 1,400-mile trip from where Canada ends to where Mexico begins on a single tank of fuel. Now, the car he used is not the regular vehicle you find at your local Chevy dealer, but a custom-built vehicle called Avion (in some languages, that means “airplane,” coincidentally). The Avion, a lightweight sports car (powered by a 800 cc diesel engine, just so you know), managed to complete the trip with an average of 119.1 mpg (1.97l/100 km). Or, if you like, it did the whole North to South trip with only 12.4 gallons of fuel. The man who built and drove the car, Craig Henderson, managed to beat two of his previous records, set in the same car, several times, since 1986. What made the difference this time was the use of new technologies, including Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires. With their 27 percent improvement in rolling resistance, or 4 percent better fuel economy than in previous versions of the tires, smashing the old record was a child's play. "The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes," Henderson said after achieving the task. "The Goodyear Fuel Max tires help provides the fuel savings we wanted, and with the confidence of knowing we will have excellent wet and dry traction."
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 102,037
Retro Car Goes From Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank
Energy efficiency has only recently become a popular concern among vehicle owners, but some people have been thinking about it for a long, long time. Craig Henderson and Bill Green designed the Avion, a fuel-efficient sports car, in 1984. Two years later, the vehicle set the Guinness World Record for fuel economy, getting an average of 103.7 mpg all the way from the Mexico border to the British Columbia, Canada border. Now Henderson has revived the Avion for another jaunt from Canada to Mexico. The latest iteration of the vehicle is just 1500 pounds and features an aluminum monocoque frame, a carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass body, and Goodyear "Fuel Max" tires. After receiving a sponsorship deal from Goodyear, Henderson decided to go from border to border once again--this time, on a single tank of gas. Jalopnik reports that Henderson began his latest journey on August 29th. He stopped only to go to the bathroom, grab food, and catch a night's rest. The result: Henderson burned only 12.4 gallons on his journey to the Mexican border for a fuel economy of 119.1 mpg, breaking his own Guinness World Record from 1986. (He drove at a pretty constant 55 mph.) Henderson is gearing up for limited commercial production of the Avion. If our fascination with fuel economy is any indication, he won't have any trouble selling it.
September 7, 2010
VPM: 80,533
Goodyear: 1,400 Miles on One Tank of Gas
Goodyear has announced that it managed to drive for 1,400 miles on just 1 tank of gas. The journey started from Canada and went south all the way to Mexico. The one tank of gas journey from Canada to Mexico was done by Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, which of course, is equipped with Goodyear tires with Fuel Max Technology. The documented mpg figure of the Avion was 119.1 miles per gallon, which means the 1,400 mile journey was done with just 12.4 gallons of fuel! The part the Goodyear tires played in all this is that they help reduce the energy loss as the tires roll through a Fuel-Saving Tread Compound. Goodyear says their new tires can save average motorists 2,600 miles worth of gas over the life of a set of tires. The car that went from Canada to Mexico on one tank of gas is lightweight and aerodynamic and was first developed by Henderson and co-designer Bill Green in 1984.
September 3, 2010
VPM: 73,804
Avion Sets New Mileage Record at 119.1 MPG
On September 1st, American driver Craig Henderson completed a 1,478-mile trip behind the wheel of his Avion car using only 46.98 liters (12.41 US gallons) of diesel; the equivalent of 1.975 liters per 100 kilometers (119.1 mpg). This remarkable feat helped him break two of his previous records. Even more incredible is the design of the Avion, which dates back to 1984! Breaking a 24-year-old record Henderson, an engineer, left his Tacoma (WA) home on August 29th to fill up in Blaine, a small town located near the Canadian border. With a full 53-liter (14 gallons) tank, he then headed south on Interstate 5. His plan? To reach Tijuana, at the Mexican border, without ever stopping for fuel. Henderson maintained an average speed of 88.5 km/h (55 mi/h). Obviously, his venture created quite a buzz and media folks in cities like Portland, Redding and Fresno were waiting for him along the way. The famous hyper miler knew the route pretty well. In 1986, he set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 2.27 L/100 km (103.7 mpg) driving the entire West Coast between Mexico and British Columbia. Two years ago, he did it again, improving his mark to 2.08 L/100 km (113.1 mpg) as he drove from Bellingham (near the Canadian border) to Portland (OR).
September 12, 2010
Visitors per Month: 72,436
For Real Fuel Economy, Forget the Prius and go for the 1984 Avion
Craig Henderson recently navigated the 1,478 mile trip from Blaine, Washington, to the Mexican border on a single tank of gas. So what kind of fantastical futuristic supercar was this man driving? Some cutting-edge Ford concept vehicle years away from the commercial market?! No. In fact, Henderson was driving a home-made car from 1984. Read that again. 1984! Contrary to the boastful language of car commercials, fuel efficiency wasn’t discovered last week. But it wasn’t chic for car companies back then, so Henderson and his business partner Bill Green never could put together commercial plans for this vehicle, the Avion. The car succeeds because it’s lightweight (just 1,500 pounds -- half the weight of a Prius) and aerodynamic, so its 800-cc diesel engine needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a pace of 55 miles per hour (the modern Prius engine is nearly 2000-cc and requires nearly 100 horsepower). Using modern Goodyear "Fuel Max" tires (Goodyear recently signed on as a sponsor for Henderson), the Avion has clocked average fuel efficiencies of 115 miles per gallon (a figure roughly 50% better than the best recorded Toyota Prius fuel efficiency). Add it all up and the Avion is far superior to the Prius, on paper. Sure, it's fully gas-powered so it's not really as superficially environmental as a car that can occasionally go electric but hey, MONEY SAVED. The man drove from Canada to Mexico on 12.4 gallons of diesel fuel! In a car that was conceived before I was! Hopefully, this becomes bigger news in coming months, as Henderson plans to build the car in limited quantities. Let's hope the price is right.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 65,507
Marathon Gas-Saving Car Trip Boosted by Goodyear's Fuel Max Tires
Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, completed a border-to- border drive from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas with the help of the efficient Goodyear Fuel Max tires. Henderson from Bellingham, Wash. began the drive on Aug. 29 near Blaine, Wash., heading south to the Mexican border near Chula Vista, Ca. He made the 1,400-mile journey getting 119.1 miles per gallon, using 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. Henderson stopped for food and overnight lodging – but no refueling – as he piloted the aerodynamic car primarily on the north-south Interstate 5.
Helping the car to achieve the milestone was Assurance Fuel Max tires, featuring the company's Fuel-Saving Tread Compound that helps reduce energy loss as the tires roll, saving an average motorist 2,600 miles worth of gas over the life of a set of tires, according to brand manager Razvan Bosomoiu. "This is a remarkable accomplishment, when you think of the number of fill- ups a typical driver would have to make during such a long trip," says Bosomoiu. "Compared to regular passenger car tires, the Fuel Max helps the Avion roll more easily and achieve fuel mileage improvements."
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 60,973
The Avion: on a Journey to Prove it is Still the World's Most Efficient Car
An extremely efficient car, the Avion will attempt to travel from Blaine, Washington to the Mexico border using merely 14 gallons of fuel. The Avion was invented by Bill Green and Craig Henderson in 1984. That year, the car was able to average 113 miles per gallon in its test runs. Two years later, the Avion set the world record for fuel efficiency by averaging 103.7 mpg on a trip from Bellingham, Washington to the Oregon state-line. This current journey could produce the Avion's third world record. Henderson and Green have modified the vehicle and provided it with a more aerodynamic shell, new tires, and an updated engine.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 36,253
From Canada to Mexico on One Tank of Diesel
Full View Craig Henderson drove from Blaine, Washington to the Mexican border — a distance of 1,478 miles — without stopping to refuel. He burned 12.4 gallons for a record-breaking 119.1 mpg in a car he originally designed in 1984. The Avion is a car Craig Henderson originally built with partner Bill Green way back in 1984 as a prototype for a high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. Commercial plans never came to fruition, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he's kept tinkering with it, improving its power train and aerodynamics along the way. With such light weight and low-resistance aerodynamics, the car only requires 3-4 horsepower to keep a 55 mph pace, perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along just sipping fuel. Henderson recently got sponsorship from Goodyear and tossed on a set of their low rolling resistance "Fuel Max" tires and has been seeing 115 mpg averages. As a promotional stunt, he decided to set off from the US/Canadian border at Blaine, Washington and drive all the way to the Mexican border without filling up. The development on the Avion isn't over either. He's got plans to restart his dream of building the car in limited quantities and it's competing in the Progressive Automotive XPrize, which seeks to reward work on next-generation fuel-efficient vehicles. It speaks volumes that this car was built 26 years ago and with a little modification can manage such impressive fuel economy still to this day. Amazing what some added lightness and aerodynamics can accomplish. Henderson started off on August 29th and essentially drove the entire length of Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep overnight. When he arrived at the Mexican border near Chula Vista, he'd burned an officially measured 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg fuel economy. The run actually broke the 103 mpg Guinness world record the car had set on the same border to border run in 1986.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 29,042
Lightweight Avion travels 1,478 miles on 12.4 gallons of diesel; that's 119.1 mpg!
Craig Henderson piloted his 1,500-pound, diesel-powered Avion from Blaine WA, to Mexico – a 1,478-mile journey – and he burned just 12.4 gallons of fuel along the way. Some simple math shows that this featherweight vehicle achieved an astounding 119.1 miles per gallon, but the mileage numbers don't tell the whole story. Henderson and partner Bill Green began designing the Avion in 1984. They set out to build a prototype high-mileage vehicle and sell it to the public. The business floundered, but Henderson couldn't let his work on the Avion be for naught. He tinkered for years and made modifications that reduced the vehicle's weight and improved its aerodynamics. The end result tips the scales at just 1,500 pounds and packs a puny, 800cc diesel engine. Due to the Avion's light weight and enhanced aerodynamics, a scant four horsepower is required to maintain speeds of 55 miles per hour. Henderson organized the run from Washington to Mexico as a promotional stunt to showcase the vehicle's abilities. On August 29th, Henderson fired up the Avion and took to the roads. His 1,478-mile trip ended three days later near Chula Vista, CA and eclipsed the Avion's own record-setting result of 103 mpg back in 1986. In 2008, the car managed 113.1 mpg. The car was entered (and then dropped out of) the Automotive X-Prizebut Henderson's promotional run has renewed his interest in selling the Avion. We're inclined to believe that this mileage champ could win buyers over on its fuel-sipping abilities alone.
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 27,530
Man Drives from Canada to Mexico on a Single Tank of Gas
Recently, a guy named Craig Henderson drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that he designed. It is listed as a Guinness World record breaking car with 119.1 milesper-gallon. That’s a long way to drive on a gallon of gas. A normal car these days that’s considered to get great gas mileage gets about 25 miles-per-gallon highway average. This car was originally constructed in 1984. Henderson has been almost constantly modifying the car to make it run better and better. He travelled from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on his trip. This trip took him a little while, but he made it in under a tank of gas, using 12.4 gallons of diesel along the entire 1,384-mile trip. Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green. He designed it as a prototype he hoped to sell. They commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion. He fine-tuned its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. The automobile has a aluminum conocoque frame. The Avion weighs in at just 1,500 pounds. Its sleek and aerodynamic body is constructed from carbon, fiberglass and kevlar. The Avion requires only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-per-hour speed. It’s outfitted with a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance “Fuel Max” tires which help extend its mileage even further. There’s not really any reason why the commercial aspect of the Avion shouldn’t work out, it probably just didn’t fit right with the oil companies, and the commercial auto makers probably just wanted to stay on their good side. Hopefully, cars like this will become more known in the future, and more attention will be placed on them.
September 12, 2010
Visitors per Month: 27,083
WWU Grad Makes it to Mexico on One Tank
Bellingham resident Craig Henderson completed a 1,400-mile drive from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas last week. Henderson's custom-built car, the Avion, is powered by an 800 cc diesel motor. It used 12.4 gallons over the course of the trip, averaging 119.1 mpg at 55 mph. Henderson, a Western Washington University grad, took a similar trip in 1986, setting a world record for mileage.
August 31, 2010
Visitors per Month: 24,212
Man Drives Car That Gets 100+ Miles per Gallon
A Washington man says he's got a car that gets more than 100 miles per gallon. He's driving the car from border to border, Canada to Mexico, to prove it. Craig Henderson says he built the car 25 years ago as a college project. He went border to border then, getting 103.7 miles per gallon. Now he's trying to break his own record, "It's a personal goal. It's something I always wanted to do, to prove that it really did happen." Henderson says between Washington and Redding he has averaged about 113 miles per gallon this trip. For people who think he has done something special, he has. Henderson says the "Avion," as he calls it, is shaped like an arrow which improves aerodynamics. It is also reasonably light, weighing in at 1,500 pounds and it has Goodyear low rolling resistance fuel max tires on it.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 14,098
Bellingham Man Driving to Mexico on Single Tank of Gas
Hybrid vehicles, step aside…a Bellingham inventor is hoping to push the bounds of highmileage driving with a Canada-to-Mexico drive on a single tank of fuel. Craig Henderson says he first built his one hundred plus mile per gallon car, dubbed the “Avion,” more than 25 years ago. Back in 1986, Henderson set the Guinness World Record for ‘Longest Fuel Range’ driving the lightweight Avion from Mexico to Canada. Henderson says with a newer standard engine and new “Fuel Max” tires from Goodyear, he’s hoping to break his old record. The Avion took off from Blaine Sunday morning, and is expected to cruise into Tijuana on Wednesday.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 11,557
Avion Car Company
The key to the Avion is design: they’re using lightweight, composite materials (carbon fiber, Kevlar, "S"-Glass) and experimental aerodynamics to increase performance and fuel efficiency in an otherwise standard diesel-powered car (four-wheel disks, independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering). The Avion utilizes a monocoque 6061 aluminum chassis and features semi-gull wing doors. Thus far they report having achieved 114 mpg driving at 55 mph. Goal: The Avion team—and the vehicle itself—has been around a while. In that time they have established a reputation for design innovation that contributes directly to increased fuel efficiency. Consequently, their goal is to bring the Avion vehicle to market. Leader: Craig Henderson. In 1986, Henderson drove the original Avion vehicle—which doesn’t differ a whole lot from the car the team’s bringing to the X-Prize—a total of 1,759 miles, averaging 103.7 mpg, a feat that landed him in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records for “longest fuel range. According to the team’s web site, Henderson broke his own record in the Avion this past October. Financial backing: Craig Henderson, Bullfrog Boats, Goodyear (tires), Canton Bandag Company
September 2, 2010
Visitors Per Month: 11,159
Goodyear Fuel Max Goes Border to Border
A Washington man recently drove from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas and Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires, according to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, completed the more than 1,400mile trek this past weekend. "Helping the car to achieve this milestone was a set of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires, featuring a Fuel-Saving Tread Compound." The Avion is powered by an 800 cc diesel motor. Henderson says he drove the car at around 55 miles per hour, contending with "regular traffic volumes." The Avion, he adds, consumed just 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. The Assurance Fuel Max is available in 32 sizes and covers about 80% of the passenger car market, according to Goodyear.
September 4, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon . More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That’s right, Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384-mile trip
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Goodyear Fuel Max Goes From Canada to Mexico
A Washington man recently drove from Canada to Mexico on a single tank of gas and Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires, according to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Craig Henderson and his custom-built car, the Avion, completed the more than 1,400-mile plus trek this past weekend. The Avion is powered by an 800cc diesel motor. Henderson says he drove the car at around 55 miles per hour, contending with "regular traffic volumes." The Avion, he adds, consumed just 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. The Assurance Fuel Max is available in 32 sizes and covers about 80% of the passenger car market, according to Goodyear.
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from Blaine, Washington to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984. Henderson rolled into Chula Vista, California, at the wheel of the Avion four days after he left home. The Avion is a car he built with Bill Green 26 years ago as a prototype high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. The business floundered, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he’s kept tinkering with it, improving its powertrain and aerodynamics. The car was built with two things in mind: Light weight and aerodynamics. To hit the featherweight 1,500-pound target, the car uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear. The body, of carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass, is riveted and bonded to the body, yielding a very stiff vehicle. An 800cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and powers the rear wheels through a five-speed gearbox.
Because it’s so light and aerodynamic, the car needs just three to four horsepower to maintain 55 mph. That’s perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along while only sipping fuel. Henderson recently landed a sponsorship from Goodyear, so he’s installed a set of the company’s low rolling resistance Fuel Max tires and has been averaging about 115 mpg. As a promotional stunt, Henderson decided to make a run for the border — the Mexican border. He planned to make the trip on one tank. He hit the road on Aug. 29 and stuck largely to Interstate 5, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks and to sleep. When he rolled up to the border near Chulla Vista on Wednesday he’d burned 12.4 gallons for an amazing 119.1 mpg. That topped the 103 mpg the car achieved, and Guinness classified as a world record — during a similar border-to-border run in 1986. The trip is done, but development of the Avion continues. Henderson plans to revisit his dream of producing the car in limited quantities.
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Save This Car More than Motor
This may sound strange, even beyond reasonable logic. An American businessman is making cars with fuel consumption which is even more efficient than 4 stroke motorcycle that hit in Indonesia. With lots of free time he had and the willingness to prove teririt car, he made a car called the Avion. This car is a sports car that has a lightweight body and use a 800cc diesel engine. Avion or which means “flight” began the journey 1400 miles from Canada and ending in Mexico, by using only one tank of fuel. The car successfully completed the trip with an average fuel consumption of 119.1 mpg or only about 1.97 liters for 100 kilometers. People who build and drive a car, Craig Henderson, had defeated two previous records, with the same car, several times since 1986. But what makes the difference with today is the use of new technology, including Fuel Max tires Goodyear Assurance that uses advanced technology that makes fuel economy. “Goodyear’s Fuel Max tires help provide fuel savings that we want, and this tire has a very good ability on the track wet and dry.” Henderson said. “Avion has reached 113 miles per gallon at an average speed of 55-60 miles per hour or about 48 km per liter during the first test. With the volume of daily traffic,” Henderson said after ending his journey. Toto Prayogo
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Taking Avion 2200 km Only With One Tank
It took the Avion 2200 km with only one tank, starting from Canada down to the final point in Mexico with a distance of more than 2200 km. But the car that he used instead of an ordinary Chevy can’t be found at local dealers.
But using a vehicle that has been modified so-called Avion which coincidentally was the name means the aircraft. Avion's light vehicles, sports cars are powered by 800cc diesel engine was successfully completed the trip with an average of 119.1 mpg (1.971/100 km). Or in other words if the car is traveling from North to South America requires only 12.4 gallons of fuel. People who build and drive this car is Craig Henderson. Through this record-Henderson has managed to beat two previous records with the same car in 1986. But what makes the difference today is the use of new technologies, which include a new technology called the tire Goodyear Fuel Max Assurance. With a 27 percent increase or 4 percent better fuel consumption than the previous version of the first tire that has a record when Henderson was a kid. Avion has reached 113 miles per gallon to 55-60 miles per hour in trials. For this trip, our average speed of 55 miles per hour and argued with the usual traffic volume," Henderson said after doing his duty was. "Fuel Max tires Goodyear Assurance helps provide fuel savings that we want and with confidence we know that will have very good traction even in wet or dry conditions," continued Henderson
September 2, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Avion sets new mileage record at 119.1 MPG
On September 1st, American driver Craig Henderson completed a 1,478-mile trip behind the wheel of his Avion car using only 46.98 liters (12.41 US gallons) of diesel — the equivalent of 1.975 liters per 100 kilometers (119.1 mpg)! This remarkable feat helped him break two of his previous records. Even more incredible is the design of the Avion, which dates back to 1984! Breaking a 24-year-old record, Henderson, an engineer, left his Tacoma (WA) home on August 29th to fill up in Blaine, a small town located near the Canadian border. With a full 53-litre (14 gallons) tank, he then headed south on Interstate 5. His plan? To reach Tijuana, at the Mexican border, without ever stopping for fuel. Henderson maintained an average speed of 88.5 km/h (55 mi/h). Obviously, his venture created quite a buzz and media folks in cities like Portland, Redding and Fresno were waiting for him along the way. The famous hyper miler knew the route pretty well. In 1986, he set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 2.27 L/100 km (103.7 mpg) driving the entire West Coast between Mexico and British Columbia. Two years ago, he did it again, improving his mark to 2.08 L/100 km (113.1 mpg) as he drove from Bellingham (near the Canadian border) to Portland (OR).
September 7, 2010
Visitors per Month: 5,000
Avion Custom Car Travels 1400 Miles on 12 Gallons; Goodyear Fuel Max Tires Credited
Craig Henderson of Bellingham, Washington, drove his custom-built Avion automobile from the US-Canada border to the US-Mexico border on a single tank of diesel fuel. Akron-based Goodyear and Henderson report that the journey extended over 1400 miles, that Henderson managed to get 119.1 miles per gallon, and that his Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires played a significant role in his achievement. He used only 12.4 gallons of fuel on the trip from Blaine, Washington, on the Canadian border, to the Mexican border near Chula Vista, California. Henderson made stops for overnight lodging but did not refuel. The lightweight, aerodynamic Avion has been around since 1984 and has set records in the past. The Avion uses an 800 cc diesel engine. Henderson built the original Avion with co-designer Bill Green; it has never been mass produced. Henderson said, "The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes. The Goodyear Fuel Max tires help provides the fuel savings we wanted, and with the confidence of knowing we will have excellent wet and dry traction." Goodyear brand manager Razvan Bosomoiu points out that the Fuel Max tire is available in sizes that fit 80% of cars on the road today. Goodyear estimates that these tires deliver 4% fuel economy to buyers, saving 2,600 miles worth of fuel per set of tires.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,673
Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Craig Henderson piloted his 1,500 pound, diesel-powered Avion from Blaine WA, to Mexico - a 1,478-mile journey - and he burned just 12.4 gallons of fuel along the way. Some simple math shows that this featherweight vehicle achieved an astounding 119.1 miles per gallon, but the mileage numbers don’t tell the whole story. Henderson and partner Bill Green began designing the Avion in 1984. They set out to build a prototype high-mileage vehicle and sell it to the public. The business floundered, but Henderson couldn’t let his work on the Avion be for naught. He tinkered for years and made modifications that reduced the vehicle’s weight and improved its aerodynamics. The end result tips the scales at just 1,500 pounds and packs a puny, 800cc diesel engine. Due to the Avion’s light weight and enhanced aerodynamics, a scant four horsepower is required to maintain speeds of 55 miles per hour. Henderson organized the run from Washington to Mexico as a promotional stunt to showcase the vehicle’s abilities. On August 29th, Henderson fired up the Avion and took to the roads. His 1,478-mile trip ended three days later near Chula Vista, CA and eclipsed the Avion’s own record-setting result of 103 mpg back in 1986. In 2008, the car managed 113.1 mpg. The car was entered (and then dropped out of) the Automotive X-Prize but Henderson’s promotional run has renewed his interest in selling the Avion. We’re inclined to believe that this mileage champ could win buyers over on its fuel-sipping abilities alone.
September 8, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,658
Lightweight Avion Travels 1,478 Miles on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Filed under: Diesel , MPG , Green Daily , Lightweight Craig Henderson piloted his 1,500-pound, diesel-powered Avion from Blaine WA, to Mexico – a 1,478-mile journey – and he burned just 12.4 gallons of fuel along the way. Some simple math shows that this featherweight vehicle achieved an astounding 119.1 miles per gallon, but the mileage numbers don’t tell the whole story. Henderson and partner Bill Green began designing the Avion in 1984. They set out to build a prototype high-mileage vehicle and sell it to the public.
September 6, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,652
Goodyear Tires Help Record-Setting Border-to-Border Run
A Bellingham, Wash., man, with a custom car, a set of tires and one tank of gas; That’s all it took to travel from Canada to Mexico, a three-day border-to-border drive that ended yesterday near Chula Vista, Calif. Craig Henderson and his custom-built, Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max-shod car, the Avion, completed the more than 1,400-mile journey with a documented 119.1 miles per gallon, using 12.4 gallons of fuel from start to finish. He began the drive on Aug. 29 near Blaine, Wash., heading south to the Mexican border, stopping only for food and overnight lodging. “This is a remarkable accomplishment, when you think of the number of fill-ups a typical driver would have to make during such a long trip,” said Razvan Bosomoiu, Goodyear brand manager. “Compared to regular passenger car tires, the Fuel Max helps the Avion roll more easily and achieve fuel mileage improvements.” Henderson’s fuel sipping sports car is lightweight and aerodynamic, and it has previously set fuel efficiency records. The original model was built by Henderson and codesigner Bill Green in 1984, but mass production was never achieved. The current version of the Avion is powered by an 800 cc diesel motor. “The Avion has achieved 113 miles per gallon at 55-60 miles per hour in testing. For this journey, we averaged around 55 miles per hour and contended with regular traffic volumes,” said Henderson. “The Goodyear Fuel Max tires help provide the fuel savings we wanted, and with the confidence of knowing we will have excellent wet and dry traction.”
September 3, 2010
Visitors per Month: 1,559
From Canada to Mexico on 12.4 Gallons of Diesel
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from Blaine, Washington to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984.
September 9, 2010
Visitors per Month: 500
Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon. More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That's right, Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384mile trip. Oh yeah, and the car was constructed in 1984. As Jalopnik explains, Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green, as a prototype he hoped to sell. Their commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion, fine-tuning its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. Thanks to its aluminum monocoque frame, the Avion weighs in at just 1500 pounds, and its sleek, aerodynamic body is crafted from carbon, kevlar and fiberglass. As a result, the Avion needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-per-hour speed, while a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance 'Fuel Max' tires helps extend its mileage even further. Even after having completed this border-to-border feat, Henderson isn't done tinkering with his creation. The roadster is still pursuing his dream of producing the Avion on a larger scale. And, judging from this recent accomplishment, he probably won't have a hard time finding interested buyers.
August 30, 2010
Visitors per Month: 500
Ultra-Efficient Avion to Go from Canada to Mexico on 14 Gallons
Fuel efficiency may have only become a hot topic recently, but some people have been thinking about with hypermiling vehicles for decades. Take, for example, inventors Bill Green and Craig Henderson; In 1984 the pair built a car dubbed the “Avion“, which squeezed out 113 mpg in test runs. Now it’s going back on the road in an attempt to travel from Canada to Mexico on just 14 gallons of gas.
September 5, 2010
Visitors per Month: 500
A 1984 Designed Diesel Avion Returns 119.1 MPG in 1478 Miles
Craig Henderson drove 1,478 miles from from Blaine, Washington, to Mexico without stopping to refuel, burning just 12.4 gallons of diesel for a stunning 119.1 mpg. And he did it in a car he originally designed in 1984. Henderson rolled into Chula Vista, California, at the wheel of the Avion four days after he left home. The Avion is a car he built with Bill Green 26 years ago as a prototype high-mileage vehicle he hoped to sell. The business floundered, but Henderson never abandoned the Avion. Over the years he’s kept tinkering with it, improving its powertrain and aerodynamics. The car was built with two things in mind: light weight and aerodynamics. To hit the featherweight 1,500-pound target, the car uses an aluminum monocoque frame with steel crash and suspension subframes at the front and rear. The body — of carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass — is riveted and bonded to the body, yielding a very stiff vehicle. An 800cc diesel engine is transversely mounted behind the driver and powers the rear wheels through a five-speed gearbox. Because it’s so light and aerodynamic, the car needs just three to four horsepower to maintain 55 mph. That’s perfect for the tiny diesel to chug along while only sipping fuel. Henderson recently landed a sponsorship from Goodyear, so he’s installed a set of the company’s low-rolling resistance Fuel Max tires and has been averaging about 115 mpg.
