FUTURE TRUCK CHALLENGE

The FutureTruck Program is a four-year competion sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Corporation for 2000, 2001 with Ford Motor Company taking over corporate sponsorship for 2002 and 2003. Fifteen universities from across North America were selected to participate in FutureTruck 2000 and 2001. Each university team started with a model-year 2000 Chevrolet Subarban SUV and ten thousand dollars in “seed” money donated by General Motors. The primary objective of each team is to modify the existing powertrain to increase the fuel ecomony (energy efficiency) as measured by the total greenhouse gas impact of the vehicle without compromising the safety, convenience, and performance consumers expect in this type of vehicle. FutureTruck 2002 and 2003 will see sixteen universities from across North America competiting with new vehicles. The goals of the competition will remain the same.

FutureTruck also aims to create a valuable pool of future engineers with hands-on experience in advance vehicle technologies.

Judging for FutureTruck 2000 took place at the General Motors Desert Proving Ground in Mesa, Arizona from May 31 to June 9, 2000. Industry experts, government officials and scientists,and members of the automotive media were involved in judging the vehicles. The University of Wisconsin - Madison Team Paradigm placed 4th overall, winning seven individual awards.

Judging for FutureTruck 2001 took place at the General Motors Milford Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan from June 4 to June 13, 2001. The competition ended in Washington D.C. with displays at the Naval Ship yard, Department of Energy and the U.S. Capitol Building. The award ceremony was held at the Smithsoniam National Museum of Natural History. Industry experts, government officials and scientists,and members of the automotive media were again invited to be involved in judging the fifteen vehicles. The University of Wisconsin placed 2nd overall, taking home top scores in the prime categories of Best On-Road Fuel Economy and Lowest Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The Moollennium achieved 32 mpg, double the stock vehicle fuel economy, while reducing Green House Gas emissions by half.

FutureTruck 2002 was held at the Ford Proving Grounds in Lake Havasu, Arizona from June 12 to June 19. From June 20-24, the competition finished in Southern California with trips to the California Speedway and Santa Monica. The awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Wilshire where the team received first place for the competition.

For the 2003 FutureTruck competition, the vehicles were tested at the Michigan Proving grounds in Romeo, MI from June 2-June 11. Although there were a few bumps along the way, the Moolander came out on top placing first overall with 841 points. Other awards won were best on-road fuel economy, best workmanship, best off-road performance, Delphi Advanced Powertrain Technology Award, best Vehicle Design Inspection, and Best Technical Report. After the competition, the Moolander along with the other FutureTruck vehicles, were displayed at Ford’s Centennial in Dearborn, MI from June 12-June 16.

The FutureTruck 2004 competition was held at Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, MI from June 9-June 17. Sailing through most of our events, there were only two major problems, both solved in record time to finish all the events. After the off-road event there was a broken front hub, and there was the bad steering rack that needed to be replaced hours before the on-road fuel economy event. When all is said and done, the Moolander and it’s team came out on top for the third year in a row taking first place overall with 925 points, a 125 point lead over second.

1st Place Overall in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 FutureTruck Competitions

The University of Wisconsin – Madison FutureTruck Team has designed and built a four-wheel drive, charge sustaining, parallel hybrid-electric sport utility vehicle for entry into the FutureTruck 2004 competition. This is a three-year project with tiered goals; the base vehicle for all years is a 2002 Ford Explorer. Wisconsin’s FutureTruck, nicknamed the ‘Moolander’, weighs approximately 2000 kg. The vehicle uses a high efficiency, 1.8 liter, turbo-charged, compression ignition common rail, direct-injection engine supplying approximately 85 kW of peak power and a AC induction motor that provides an additional 78 kW of peak power. This hybrid drivetrain is an attractive alternative to the large displacement V6 drivetrain, as it provides comparable performance with similar emissions and drastically reduced fuel consumption. The PNGV Systems Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) model predicts a Federal Testing Procedure (FTP) combined driving cycle fuel economy of 16.74 km/L (39.4 mpg) with California Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) emissions levels. These goals were met while maintaining the full passenger/cargo capacity, appearance, and towing capacity of 2495 kg.

In an effort to minimize Greenhouse Gas emissions; mass was reduced, the drivetrain was hybridized to maximize city fuel economy and B35 fuel is being utilized to minimize upstream GHG factors. Aluminum components were used whenever possible, including replacement of front and rear bumper beams with aluminum extrusions and an student built aluminum frame. Closely matching the capacity of the hybrid battery, traction motor and motor controller have resulted in a lightweight fuel efficient hybrid design. Competition results show that the hybrid powertrain doubled (16.74 km/L) the Moolander’s fuel economy compared to its stock counterpart (7.98 km/L).

The Moolander is a highly recyclable, highly manufacturable, prototype hybrid SUV that is capable of achieving twice the fuel economy of the stock vehicle.

2004 Awards

Best On-Road Fuel Economy

Best Consumer Acceptability

Lowest Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Best Oral Presentation

Visteon Innovative Use of Electronics Award - 3rd place

2003 Awards

Vehicle Design Inspection Award

Best Workmanship Award

Best Off-Road Performance

Best Technical Report

Best On-Road Fuel Economy

Delphi Advanced Powertrain Technology Award

2002 Awards

Lowest Greenhouse Gas Emissions Award

Innovations in Aluminum Award

Dr. Donald Streit Sportsmanship Award

Vehicle Design Inspection Award

Best Workmanship Award