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Ohio State University engineering students won third place today in the Challenge X competition -- a four-year contest among 17 universities to turn a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox SUV into the most fuel-efficient vehicle possible.
The students used a biodiesel engine and battery power similar to Toyota's Prius vehicle to improve the efficiency of the Equinox from 23 miles per gallon to 33 miles per gallon.
The retooled vehicle has a little less power than the original Equinox, students said, but the combustion engine can get a boost when needed from the electric motor under the vehicle's trunk.
"I want my grandkids to drive cars like this," Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, told the students after taking a test drive around the Capitol.
The 10-student team of engineers and marketing majors won first place for their vehicle's handling on a test drive on a New Jersey race course.
Mississippi State and Wisconsin finished first and second respectively in the overall competition sponsored primarily by General Motors and the Department of Energy.
-Neil H. Simon
The students used a biodiesel engine and battery power similar to Toyota's Prius vehicle to improve the efficiency of the Equinox from 23 miles per gallon to 33 miles per gallon.
The retooled vehicle has a little less power than the original Equinox, students said, but the combustion engine can get a boost when needed from the electric motor under the vehicle's trunk.
"I want my grandkids to drive cars like this," Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, told the students after taking a test drive around the Capitol.
The 10-student team of engineers and marketing majors won first place for their vehicle's handling on a test drive on a New Jersey race course.
Mississippi State and Wisconsin finished first and second respectively in the overall competition sponsored primarily by General Motors and the Department of Energy.
-Neil H. Simon