FutureTruck 2004

After five years of planning, designing, developing, and executing, the FutureTruck competition series has come to a close. This competition challenged more than 1000 of the best and brightest engineering students from the United States and Canada with re-engineering a sport utility vehicle to improve fuel economy by 25% and reduce emissions while maintaining the vehicle’s performance, utility, and safety. This year’s competition, held at Ford’s Michigan Proving Ground on June 9-17, 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 tailpipe and greenhouse gas emissions, among other features. FutureTruck 2004 ended with a victory tour that stopped at various sponsor facilities: Dana headquarters in Maumee, Ohio; Delphi’s facilities in Troy, Michigan; ArvinMeritor headquarters in Detroit, Michigan; and Visteon’s Technical Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The final stop was a finish line ceremony at Ford’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

Approximately $64,000 in cash prizes and more than a dozen awards were presented at the June 16 awards ceremony. After opening remarks from Al Kammerer, Executive Director for North American Product Development at Ford, and Dr. James Fischer, member of the Board of Directors for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of the U.S. Department of Energy, trophies and awards were given to the student teams across a wide range of categories.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison took first-place honors for the third year in a row, scoring 925 out of 1000 possible points. The Pennsylvania State University took home the award for second place with a score of 803 points, and Georgia Institute of Technology grabbed the third-place trophy by scoring 703 points. Below are some of the highlights from this fantastic competition.

• All 15 vehicles passed technical inspections and participated in dynamic events while operating in hybrid mode — a FutureTruck first!
• The off-road event proved to be more difficult this year because of heavy rains. Teams were allowed to provide human muscle power for the vehicles that slipped off the hilly course and occasionally got stuck in the mud in the 3-foot-deep pits lined with logs and rocks that were part of this event.
• The trailer-towing event challenged the Explorers to pull a 2,000-pound trailer within a specified time period over a 15-mile-long "hill route" that varied from a 7% grade for one-half mile, then up short grades as steep as 17%. An added feature included a stop halfway up the 7% grade and then continuing up to the top. This test quickly weeded out any undersized propulsion systems or inability to demonstrate charge-sustaining operation. Eleven teams completed the trailer-tow course.
• The sun was finally shining when the on-road fuel economy and acceleration event showed how the vehicles operate in a "floor-it-and-merge" highway driving environment, as well as in stop-and-go city driving. Six teams had better on-road fuel economy than the control Ford Explorer, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison had a fuel economy of 25 miles per gasoline gallon equivalent (a 33% increase over the control Ford Explorer). Georgia Tech had the winning acceleration time (16.6 seconds compared with 17.3 for the control Ford Explorer) again this year!
• The regulated tailpipe emissions event called for the students' innovative technologies to work together precisely as planned and exhibit an exceptional level of control. The difference of a few parts-per-million of one of several pollutants determined winning or losing in the emissions testing event. Ten teams had better greenhouse gas emissions than the control Ford Explorer with the greatest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions belonging to the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a 50% reduction. Two FutureTrucks demonstrated emissions levels below the Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV) standard.

Although the FutureTruck competition series has concluded, DOE and General Motors have launched a new three-year advanced vehicle technology competition, Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainability. Seventeen North American universities will participate. For more information, contact Kristen De La Rosa, Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions Program Manager at 512/481-8876.

More Information

• Complete Awards Listing
• 2004 Score Summary

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