http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23715179/

In a demonstration of the insurance industry's interest in climate change and carbon dioxide emissons, Progressive Insurance announced their sponsoring of the final prize for a contest aimed at producing super-efficient automobiles.

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, modeled after earlier prizes for spaceflight and genetic research, is aimed at promoting the creation of cars that get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon, while at the same time hitting targets for low greenhouse-gas emissions, safety and affordability.

More than 60 teams have announced their intention to compete, with cross-country stage races slated for 2009 and 2010. The spectacle could well hark back a century, to the first-ever transcontinental road race in 1909, said Peter Diamandis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the X Prize Foundation.

MSNBC.com; March 20, 2008

Submitted by J. Andrews