GM EcoCAR EV Competition Enters Judging Phase

General Motors’ EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge program is currently seeing sixteen vehicles built by 100 college students being tested in the Arizona desert, at GM’s Desert Proving Ground (Yuma, Arizona).For the next six days, the 16 EcoCAR team from universities across North America will test their vehicles' abilities in a series of pit tests.

EcoCar is a three-year competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and GM that asks the teams to re-engineer a GM-donated car, implementing multiple alternative technologies and creating their own original architecture.

The aim of the competition is to lead to the development of fuel-efficient vehicles that meet commercial standards for utility, safety and performance. The EcoCar vehicles are divided into four categories: extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and full function electric vehicle.

All the tests will be conducted at GM’s 2,400-acre Desert Proving Ground, a facility that includes 40 miles of roads located on the US Army military proving ground and artillery range.

Following this week’s testing and judging in Yuma, the teams will move to San Diego, CA where the Year Two competition winners will be announced on Thursday, May 27 at the San Diego House of Blues.

“The students spent two years designing and building these innovative vehicles and it’s thrilling to see them come to life here at our Desert Proving Ground,” said John Haraf, director of Hybrid Vehicle Integration and Controls for General Motors. “We couldn’t imagine a more appropriate place to conclude Year Two of the EcoCAR competition – these young engineers must pass the toughest inspections and undergo the same tests we perform on our own prototypes. This challenging process gives them invaluable experience and preparation for careers in the industry.”