Regardless of what automakers tell us, the internal combustion engine has changed very little in the past hundred years. In fact, Ford’s Model T averaged 28 mpg, while Ford’s current model of the Explorer barely makes 16 mpg. No matter how you look at it, that isn’t what you would call progress.

However, Peter Diamandis, founder of the X Prize, hopes to force automakers to do better by offering the first Automotive X Prize, which will focus on the creation of a new breed of vehicles that will be far more fuel efficient than anything offered by the current automobile industry. Part of the innovative rules for the competition will be that the winning vehicle will be made available to consumers at a price they can afford.

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