Virginia Tech Hybrid Electric Vehicle TEAM To Attend 2012 Washington Auto Show
(Washington, D.C.) – The Virginia Tech Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) will be attending the 2012 Washington Auto Show Thursday, Jan. 26 for the Public Policy Preview Day, and remain for the general public through Saturday, Jan. 28. HEVT will be present alongside the Ohio State University EcoCAR 2 Team.
Virginia Tech is one of 15 North American engineering schools participating in EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM), the three-year Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) competition offers students real-world experience in an effort to educate the next generation of automotive engineers.
EcoCAR 2 challenges university students to reduce the environmental impact of a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, donated by GM, without compromising performance, safety and consumer acceptability. Each team will receive a 2013 Malibu at the end of the first year of competition.
“EcoCAR 2 gives us the opportunity to develop valuable skills that will prepare us for careers as the next generation of clean vehicle engineers,” said HEVT team leader Jesse Alley. “Auto shows are a great outlet to reach a new group of consumers who are interested in alternative energy ideas but may not have heard of the competition before.”
Event Details:
Thursday, Jan. 26
Public Policy Preview Day
Friday, Jan. 27
12:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday, Jan. 28
10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday, Jan. 29
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
The 2012 Washington Auto Show will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at 801 Mount Vernon Place Northwest Washington D.C., 20001. The auto show will take place from Jan 27 – Feb. 5. Tickets, hours and more information can be found at http://www.washingtonautoshow.com.
In June 2011, HEVT placed first in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, a three-year AVTC (2008-2011) sponsored by the U.S. DOE and GM. Sixteen universities throughout the U.S. and Canada were invited to compete. Teams were challenged to redesign and re-engineer a stock model Saturn Vue into a more energy-efficient “Chevy EcoCAR” while still maintaining safety, consumer acceptability and performance.
HEVT produced an extended-range electric vehicle with an 82 miles-per-gallon rating under the supervision of Virginia Tech mechanical engineering professor Doug Nelson.
Additional information about HEVT and EcoCAR 2 is available on the HEVT website and competition website.
Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association