Ohio State engineering students, participating this week in the Challenge X Winter Workshop in Los Angeles, are seeing stars as they compete in the first session of the 2007-2008 contest. The team joined other Challenge X teams from around the country on a tour of the famed garage of late-night talk show host and auto-enthusiast Jay Leno. When the Ohio State Challenge X team invited Leno to take their hybrid Chevy Equinox SUV for a spin, he immediately accepted the offer.
Challenge X is a four-year competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors and several other organizations and companies from throughout the U.S. and Canada. Begun in 2004 with the goal of re-engineering a crossover vehicle to achieve better fuel economy and lower emissions, the student teams were challenged to develop and explore advanced vehicle technologies that address important energy and environmental issues.
Seventeen American and Canadian universities are now entering their fourth and final year in the race to convert a gasoline-based 2005 Equinox SUV into a hybrid vehicle maximizing fuel economy and emissions ratings while maintaining stock performance.
An invitation to this leg of the competition was extended to teams with fully functioning vehicles, as the events involve considerable driving over public roads in the Los Angeles area. The more competitive and final portion of the Challenge X series will take place in May 2008, as the teams are required to drive their vehicles from New York City to Washington DC, and participate in the closing of the competition with an event on Capitol Hill.
For more information about the Ohio State Challenge X vehicle, visit: http://www.osuchallengex.com