AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — A team of engineering students from the University of Tennessee won the 1995 Hybrid Vehicle Challenge here Tuesday.
The 30-member team from UT-Knoxville converted a Chrysler Neon to run on electricity and recharge its batteries with a small natural gas-powered engine. UT won over 11 other schools, including the University of Michigan, Texas Tech and the University of Florida.
This is UT’s fourth first place win in eight alternative fuels competitions. The first came in the 1989 Methanol Marathon. Dr. Jeff Hodgson and Dr. Doug Birdwell are faculty advisors.
“The hybrid electric vehicle has been identified as one way to achieve the goal of having three times the fuel economy of current vehicles,” Hodgson said.
The competition, which began June 5, was held at the Chrysler Technology Center in Auburn Hills. Sponsors were Chrysler, Saturn, Ford, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the U.S. Department of Energy and Natural Resources of Canada.
Contact: Dr. Jeff Hodgson (974-5294 or 986-0949)