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By Danny King, Contributor


Mississippi State University beat out 15 other North America colleges and universities to win the second-year phase of the EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge alternative-fuel car-building contest sponsored chiefly by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Right and below, the Mississippi St. team.
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Mississippi State's vehicle - an extended-range plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle that included a 1.3-liter GM turbodiesel engine - achieved a tested fuel economy of 118 miles-per-gallon equivalent in addition to winning best-acceleration and autocross honors, contest organizers said at the awards presentation in San Diego today.



Virginia Tech placed second with its extended-range plug-in vehicle, while Penn State finished third with its own EREV.


The three schools topped a group of universities that spent almost a year converting the Saturn Vue crossovers that GM donated to them into alternative-fueled vehicles that were tested for safety, fuel economy, drivability and other features at GM's hot-weather proving grounds near Yuma, Arizona, last week.


In addition to the top three teams, five entrants were EREVS, two were hydrogen fuel-cell plug-in electric vehicles, three were plug-in hybrids, two were conventional hybrids and one was a battery-electric vehicle.


"We're glad to know that two years of hard work is paying off," said Thomas Goddette, the 21-year-old team leader of Mississippi State, who added that his team likely benefited from having the vehicle's passenger and cargo area completely unimpeded by the rebuilt powertrain system. "If we weren't in class, we were working on the car."


For the contest's third year, the teams will fine-tune all of the electrical, technical and mechanical components added during the so-called "mule" stage to approach what contest organizers call "near-showroom quality."


Virginia Tech team leader Lynn Gantt said today that much of that focus will be on maximizing the electric-only range of the vehicle, while Goddette said Mississippi State will emphasize improving the vehicle's handling and balance to better account for all of the new components.


"One of the biggest things we can work on is drivability," said Goddette, who added that all but three members of the 20-member team will be returning for another year of competition. "There are definitely places for improvement."






Penn St. Team Leader David Fecek at work.                          Stephen Riner of Virginia Tech at work.

Tags: Fuel Economy, Alternative-Fuel Vehicles, EcoCAR Challenge, General Motors, Mississippi State University, Penn State, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, U.S. Department of Energy, Virginia Tech

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Mississippi St. Wins Year Two Segment of GM- and DOE-Sponsored Alt-Fuel Contest was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.