The UW-Madison Hybrid Vehicle Team has been stirring up press about creating a more fuel-efficient SUV with their new Chevrolet Equinox hybrid. With a second-place finish in the second year of a four-year competition, the alternative fuel SUV is already making waves.

The team is composed of about 30 members, primarily underclassmen, with majors ranging from mechanical engineering to philosophy; all have little or no previous experience with automotive hybrids.

The Hybrid Vehicle team has been around for more than 15 years, and 90 percent of the members are undergrads, even though at most schools only trust grad students to work on research of this scale.

Becky Gunn, the team leader of the Hybrid Vehicle Team, directs the crew.

"The main purpose is to enable students to learn more about cars and hybrid technology and inspire creative ideas for vehicle technology for the future,” Gunn says. "We’re students learning about the future of automotive technology.”

A look under the hood of the GM EV1, the first electric motor vehicle produced by an automotive company.

The team’s main focus is a program called "Challenge X” that was started in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors Corporation (GM). The Challenge X competition began when these groups saw the need to explore more advanced vehicle technologies that address energy and environmental problems.

The four-year-long program includes annual competitions to rate the vehicles in several different categories. The final goal is to produce a 99-percent-complete consumer vehicle.

In the first year, the teams perform research and simulation work to determine the design of the hybrid. The team then submits its completed proposal in hopes of getting selected to pursue the challenge.

If the team is lucky enough to get the keys to a brand new Chevrolet Equinox, they are able to start the competition. Back in 2005, the UW-Madison won this opportunity and began working on their vehicle, the "Moovada”.

"To see something that I've worked on from computer simulation, through the times when the car was completely torn apart, to eventually being put together and able to drive the car is an amazing experience,” Gunn says.

Integrating the powertrain and all other components into the Equinox is the main concern of the second year. Because UW-Madison has extensive experience with alternative fuels such as biodiesel, the team chose to work with a biodiesel hybrid engine coupled with an electric motor.

Currently in the third year, the team is working hard to fine tune the vehicle. The team and its competitors are scrambling to work out all the kinks in the drivetrain systems and toiling to get the finished car looking clean and streamlined. Final adjustments to the Moovada will improve its handling, driving and ultimately its consumer appeal.

The fourth year consists of additional consumer acceptability modifications. The competition will conclude with a road rally ending in Washington, D.C. This will challenge the students to create a vehicle that can operate reliably under normal passenger-vehicle driving conditions.

This is the Chevrolet Equinox, named the Moovada, that was given to the team for the Challenge X competition.

What sets the Moovada apart from other hybrid vehicles competing in Challenge X?

"We spend hours working with the best materials and taking extra care to make sure no detail of the car is left unfinished or looking unprofessional,” Gunn says. "Our team won the award for workmanship last year for producing a vehicle that appears to be something off the GM assembly line.”

In addition to completing the hybrid vehicle and participating in the yearly competitions, one part of the requirements of Challenge X is to participate in some type of outreach. The UW-Madison team plans to meet and exceed this requirement this year. For example, the team holds science- and math-related events on campus, and also general publicity events to gain sponsors. This year the team is becoming more involved with children of all ages, allowing them to tour the garage and possibly develop an interest in the project and in hybrid vehicles in general.

In June 2006, the team placed second overall out of 17 well-known universities throughout North America in the Challenge X competition. Not only did they take home a second-place overall ranking, they also earned 11 awards in categories ranging from Best Technical Presentation to Best Engineering Fabrication and Workmanship. Their faculty advisor, Dr. Glenn Bower, won the award for Outstanding Long-Term Faculty Advisor as well.

The Moovada is a "through-the-road” 4-wheel drive hybrid, meaning that a biodiesel engine runs the front two wheels, and an electric engine runs the rear wheels. The team’s improvements have boosted the Moovada’s fuel efficiency from 17 to 36 miles per gallon (mpg).

Beyond doubling the mpg of the standard Equinox, the Moovada has earned the Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) certification by the California Air Resources Board by emitting 50% less harmful emissions than the average new car.

The Hybrid Vehicle team’s weekly meetings consist of a recap of what the team is currently working on and usually include a team-building activity. Among the favorites are paper airplane races, creeper (a dolly used to work under cars) races and anything that involves dropping something from a balcony. The meetings are usually Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the Mechanical Engineering Building, and new students are always welcome to join.

After all of their hard work, how does team leader Becky Gunn feel about their chances for Challenge X?

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect us to get first this year,” Gunn says.