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The annual Challenge X competition invites college students to design cars powered by alternative technologies. (http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-garage1dec01,0,4385489.story?coll=la-class-autos-highway1)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Challenge_X_Chevrolet_Equinox.jpgMartin Zimmerman - Los Angeles Times - Dec. 1, 2007

Last years UW of Madison Challenge X Equinox. I liked this years UC Davis entry and one of Andy Frank’s brainchilds. A Prius-II drivetrain with a 40 miles PHEV pack attached in a small GM SUV :) -- Ed.

The ground floor of the Petersen Automotive Museum's parking garage looked like pit row at a NASCAR race. Vehicles covered in brightly colored decals were strewn about, motors revving, while folks poked about beneath hoods and discussed various aspects of speed and performance.

But instead of promoting Valvoline or Viagra, the decals sported the names of lithium-ion battery companies and state universities. The vehicles were 2005 Chevy Equinox crossovers -- not over-engined stock cars -- with power plants not found on any race track.

And instead of gasoline fumes, the odd whiff of combusting vegetable oil wafted by.

This was Challenge X, an effort by General Motors Corp., the federal government and 17 universities to develop alternatives to the gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine that powers most of the vehicles on the road in America today.

The teams at the museum Thursday have been working on their entries for three years. The challenge: to re-engineer an Equinox to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions while retaining its "consumer appeal." GM supplied the vehicles, tech support and some funding. The Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory provided expertise and advice.

The competition, which ends in May, is a chance for engineering students to get experience designing and using propulsion technologies that go beyond what is available in many engineering schools: biodiesels, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, E85 ethanol and various combinations thereof.

"I've learned more on this project than I did in my entire undergraduate education," said Frank Falcone, leader of the San Diego State University team. "It's an incredible real-world experience."

GM, meanwhile, gets to audition its next generation of engineering talent. The giant Detroit-based automaker has hired more than 50 student participants since Challenge X started in 2004… http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-garage1dec01,0,4385489.story?coll=la-class-autos-highway1

I think GM would like nothing better than to put an equinox bodly on the volt running gear. It sure would make much more sense for a program like this to start with something more reasonable in size and weight if fuel economy is really the goal. Any way you look a it, it takes a lot of energy to move an equinox on down the road. This program also keeps the up and coming engineering students focused on SUVs rather than more practical solutions to fuel efficiency. It seems as though GM and the engineering students would gain more if GM were not still stuck in SUV/4x4 mode.

.... Any way you look a it, it takes a lot of energy to move an equinox on down the road. This program also keeps the up and coming engineering students focused on SUVs rather than more practical solutions to fuel efficiency. It seems as though GM and the engineering students would gain more if GM were not still stuck in SUV/4x4 mode.

I wouldn't fixate on the body style. I'd wager the idea was to give the participants a frame that had enough space/strength to handle most reasonably conceivable powertrain configurations.

I was recently talking to a retired John Deere engineer who developed tractor/combine cab HVAC systems and he told me about a system they developed that took three years because they kept running out of engine compartment space when other components changed. Similarly I'm guessing they picked the Equinox over say, a Malibu, because they didn't want the participants to spend all their time just trying to figure out how to stuff an alternative or hybrid power plant into a vehicle that didn't have extra engine compartment room.

Ideally, production vehicles' engine compartments are designed somewhat around the powerplant, but that's a different design question and probably would make judging the contest too hard.

GM supposedly hires bright people but the end result is that they still suck at engineering. Like GM hybrid cars totally suck. And Ford, GM, and Chrysler were given a big boost by the government in the 90's to develop hybrid cars and Toyota and Honda were excluded but it's Toyota and Honda with the great hybrid cars now.

American car engineering sucks, but we make beautiful gas guzzling cars, SUVs, and trucks.