Major issues with Give Me Liberty...or Give Me Death

[sandmanz613]

In Give Me Liberty... or Give Me Death which origianlly aired onJanuary 21, 1983
Michael enters KITT in an alternative fuel race where the coordinator, Dr. Kempler, believes an oil-producing nation is conducting sabotage to see the advanced fuel technologies fail. Michael investigates every driver's background and zeroes in on a reporter named Liberty Cox who has a long criminal record and a radio detonator device in her luggage. Little does Michael know that Liberty is being set up by the real saboteur; a ruthless cable television sponsor Clark Sellers, who stands to make a killing off of the filming rights of the race if every car makes a "spectacular crash".

So here is the issue ... when the race cars are lining up you can hear the announcer stating the rules of the race which include the car that uses the least gas is the winner, as it is an alternative fuel race...

First, one of the cars was a solar power car...in fact based on what the announcer says the solar car has already won the race with even racing. As it is solar powered it really doesn't use fuel!

Second, KITT is the alernative fuel car of the future, as KITT points out, how could they check how much fuel KITT used? Who would let the race officials check?

I guess that this detail, which is able to be heard at the beginning of the race, was dropped as the episode went on as it posed too many issues...

What do you think?

[KITTfan]

Here's my thoughts:
I guess better choice of words would've been who's using the least amount of energy in the race. Besides, maybe the solar power car was actually a hybrid, like Toyota Prius now, gasoline engine and solar powered electric motor assisting it. Therefore it would use some amount of fuel but less than conventional car as the solar powered electric motor would assist the gasoline engine and using less fuel. Solar power couldn't be the only powersource anyway, otherwise you couldn't go anywhere in a cloudy day

Bonnie changed KITT's normal fuel system to liquid hydrogen for the race so KITT wasn't the car of the future in that race he usually was.

[Rockatteer]

Wasn't Kitts entrance in the race only a cover so they could investigate? Meaning that Kitt wouldn't be checked for fuel consumption anyway?

[sandmanz613]

True I guess KITT would not be checked as it was a cover. The solar powered car was not a hybrid...runs on the sun...
oops guess it was really an oversight. After all back in the 80s alternative fuel cars were really on the fringe of American thought!