Students from St. Charles High School in Illinois Win the National Finals Of the Chrysler Brand's 'Build Your Dream Vehicle' Competition

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 31 A team of students from St. Charles High School in St. Charles, Ill., today was named the 2002 National Champion of "Build Your Dream Vehicle" (BYDV), an automotive design competition sponsored by the Chrysler brand of DaimlerChrysler Corporation.

In addition to the $6,000 first-place prize and gold trophy, St. Charles' Team Soleil (pronounced so-LAY) -- named after their entry vehicle, Soleil -- also takes home an additional $3,000 for being the top BYDV team in the Midwest region.

"I'm just way too excited," said Team Soleil member Grant Taylor. "Honestly, we thought we were going to get third because there was some stiff competition and a lot of good presentations."

Winning second place was Maine East High School, Park Ridge, Ill., with their vehicle Illusion. The team was awarded $4,000, a silver first runner-up trophy and $1,500 for being the Southwest region winner. The third-place winner, Poway High School in Poway, Calif. from the West region, won $2,000 and a bronze second runner-up trophy with their vehicle, Progeny.

"Innovation, creativity and teamwork are what shaped groundbreaking vehicles like the Chrysler PT Cruiser, Prowler and the Crossfire. The Build Your Dream Vehicle program allows us to share our love of car design by giving high school students an opportunity to create their own 'dream' vehicle," said Jay Kuhnie, Director Chrysler/Jeep® Communication, DaimlerChrysler Corp.

More than 200 entries from 56 schools across the nation were submitted in the BYDV competition. Established in 1994, Build Your Dream Vehicle is an innovative educational competition. Using a case study format, the program challenges high school students (grades 9 through 12) to work in teams to conceive, design and present a futuristic, environmentally friendly and ergonomically appropriate automobile.

This year students were challenged to conceive and market a vehicle scheduled to launch in the year 2008, targeted toward first-time buyers, ages 18-24.

Soleil is an affordable, multi-purpose crossover vehicle that mixes the seating of a luxury sedan and cargo capacity of a Sport-utility vehicle, wrapped in the body of a sports car. The Soleil is not only designed to be a great ride, it is also good for the environment, using a 200-horsepower gas/electric hybrid engine, averaging 73 miles to the gallon on the highway. The team of students who created the vehicle said the Soleil will revolutionize the vehicle market and set new standards for all other vehicles.

"WOW" or best-of-category trophies and a of $1,000 were given in four categories:

Best Concept Vehicle was won by Team Fury from William D. Ford High School, Westland, Mich. Best Marketing was won by Team Soleil Best Presentation was won by Team 4th Dimension from Crawford High School, San Diego Best Technology was won by Team Illusion BYDV teaches participants that a solution starts with a good idea, but requires collaboration and an effective plan to be successfully implemented in the marketplace. The program promotes the application of science, technology and design, time management, creativity, teamwork, oral presentation, the development of marketing strategies and financial statements.