Wayne State EcoCAR 2 team makes an impressive showing in year two competition, gears up for year three
DETROIT (June 19, 2013) - Wayne State University College of Engineering students headed to General Motors' (GM) Desert Proving Grounds in May to test their re-engineered 2013 Chevy Malibu in the EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future Year Two Competition, sponsored by GM and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The WSU team - the only Michigan team competing out of 15 North American teams - took eighth place in year two and is already focused on next year's culminating competition.
EcoCAR 2 gives students the opportunity to gain real-world, eco-friendly automotive engineering experience while striving to further improve the energy efficiency of an already highly efficient vehicle. Much like the challenges currently facing automakers, EcoCAR 2 students must strike a balance between increasing the vehicle's energy efficiency and reducing the vehicle's greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum consumption with maintaining the original Malibu's performance, safety and overall consumer acceptability.
In Year Two, the Wayne State team was the second team to complete and pass the competition's emission and energy consumption portion, which accounted for one-third of the total score. It also was the sixth team to finish all of the following rounds of competition: safety tech inspection, shake down, on-road safety evaluation, maximum lateral acceleration, acceleration and braking, dynamic consumer acceptability, and emission and energy consumption.
The communication team also took second place for Best Collaboration with a Clean Cities Coalition.
Up four spots from last year, the team is pleased with this year's results. "It is amazing what a team can accomplish when everyone wants them to succeed," said Mike Lim, electrical team leader.
Echoed College of Engineering EcoCar 2 Advisor and Professor Jerry Ku, "I am extremely proud of what our team has achieved. They are unbelievably committed and dedicated, and have learned so much in this process." Ku also stressed that the team is extremely appreciative of the year-round support from the College of Engineering and resources and guidance from GM mentors and Dessert Proving Grounds staff, as well as the EcoCAR 2 Technical Steering Committee.
The Wayne State team is already focused on what it can do to break the top five in year three and securing a place in EcoCAR 3.
"Some of our priorities to focus on for next year's competition include optimizing our vehicle and giving it some game-changing advantages," said Team Captain and Project Manager Idan Regev. "Our strategic goal is, and always has been, to get into EcoCAR 3."
Additional information about EcoCAR 2 is available on the competition website and blog, Flickr stream, Facebook page and Twitter stream.
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Contact:
Katie O'Neal
EcoCAR 2 Communication Manager, Wayne State
kmoneal@wayne.edu
734-363-1109