University of Wisconsin - Madison Students Win Final FutureTruck Competition

Engineering Students Re-design SUV, Improving Fuel Economy and Lowering Emissions

DEARBORN, Mich., June 17 -- Students from the University of Wisconsin - Madison took top honors at this year's final FutureTruck challenge by re-engineering a base 2002 Ford Explorer to achieve a 33 percent increase in on-road fuel economy and a 50 percent reduction in emissions over the stock vehicle. The winning vehicle, a parallel hybrid that utilizes a compression- ignition engine with an advanced catalyst system capable of achieving super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV) level emissions, also met the competition's safety and performance requirements.

The FutureTruck competition attracted 15 engineering teams from universities across North America. The second place vehicle, re-engineered by students at Pennsylvania State University, is a hybrid electric vehicle that uses a 2.5L common-rail diesel engine and an AC induction electric motor. Penn State implemented a urea selective catalytic reduction system, among other measures, to significantly reduce diesel emissions. The Georgia Institute of Technology was awarded third place overall with a split-parallel through-the-road hybrid powertrain with an AC induction electric motor that drives the front wheels and a six-cylinder engine that drives the rear wheels -- a design that would allow the hybrid-electric powertrain to be a factory option.

FutureTruck is sponsored by Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and more than a dozen other government and industry supporters. Now in its third year, the competition has challenged more than a thousand of the best and brightest engineering students from the United States and Canada with re-engineering a sport utility vehicle (SUV) to improve fuel economy by 25 percent and reduce emissions while maintaining the vehicle's performance, utility and safety. This year's competition, held at Ford's facilities in Romeo and Allen Park, Mich., was the grand finale of the program. Teams squared off in eight days of vehicle testing that measured acceleration, towing ability, fuel economy, off-road performance and greenhouse gas emissions, among other qualities.

"Our team has worked hard over the past three years to re-engineer our Explorer, and we're proud to take home first prize in the final FutureTruck competition," said Glenn Bower, team advisor for Wisconsin -- Madison. "The students have learned a lot through this exceptional program, and look forward now to applying that knowledge and their enthusiasm to the real world of vehicle design."

The Wisconsin - Madison team utilized a Ford Lynx 1.8L compression- ignition engine in conjunction with a modified Delphi EV1 AC induction motor in a post-transmission parallel hybrid. A selective catalytic reduction catalyst and particulate filter helped Wisconsin strive for SULEV emissions. Six teams achieved better on-road fuel economy in this year's contest, and the University of Wisconsin - Madison vehicle had the highest improvement in fuel economy at 33 percent. Ten teams managed to maintain or exceed the base Explorer's performance while lowering environmental impact through greenhouse gas emissions; the vehicle with the greatest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions belonged to University of Wisconsin - Madison.

"This competition helps develop tomorrow's engineers by giving students a unique hands-on opportunity to work with and explore clean, fuel-efficient technologies, said Al Kammerer, Ford's executive director of SUV and body on frame vehicles. "These are the engineers who will lead the automotive industry in the 21st century -- and they're the type of people we want working for Ford."

FutureTruck aims to reduce dependence on imported oil by reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, including greenhouse gases, in SUVs while providing the power, utility and design that consumers demand.

"Developing the advanced technologies that reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil is critical to the future prosperity of our country," said DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham. "Our outstanding collaboration with Ford has shown what government and industry can do when working together with academia to develop energy efficient technologies for the future."

The remaining teams that participated in the FutureTruck finale included California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Cornell University; Michigan Technological University; Ohio State University; Texas Tech University; University of Alberta; University of California, Davis; University of Idaho; University of Maryland; University of Tennessee; Virginia Tech and West Virginia University.

Ford Motor Company and DOE were the headline sponsors for the FutureTruck 2004. Argonne National laboratory, a DOE R&D facility, provided competition management, technical and logistical support. Other sponsors included the National Science Foundation; Delphi; The MathWorks; ArvinMeritor; National Instruments; Visteon; Natural Resources Canada; BP; Michigan Proving Ground; Allen Park Test Laboratory; Dana; Motorola; Aluminum Association; Ricardo, Inc.; and AAA Michigan.

After FutureTruck concludes, DOE will launch a new three-year advanced vehicle technology competition, Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainability.

Additional information about FutureTruck is available on the Web at http://www.futuretruck.org/. Information about Challenge X is available at http://www.challengex.org/.