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Shell Eco Marathon

Another to check out if you haven't already.

Kinda excited. I missed my press trip to Sepang for this year's Asian Eco-Marathon, but they're holding it here in Manila next year.

We're hoping to have our new truck at the Houston Eco Marathon event in 2015.

Not as a contestant of course, but as a display vehicle for the event sponsor. We have been working a deal with them since April of this year. But because they are so large, progress is going excruciatingly slow.

Laval University Aims to Reclaim MPG Crown - Shell Global

shell eco marathon cars - Google Search

I especially like this designs shape : http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/public-relat...pg/image_large

But then you have stuff like this that makes you scratch your head and think " What did they do that for ?" ( the car is driving backwards aerodynamically : http://images.nationalgeographic.com...78_600x450.jpg

So do they run REAL cars at this event ? Here is an example of a "car" for this race - which i seem to remember runs at less than 40 mph. This isn't much more than a tissue paper covered motorized skateboard ( when compared to an everyday car - not knocking the genius designers.I really admire these guys ): http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/au...o-marathon.jpg

I see this as nothing more than Shell trying to gain P.R. as being eco-friendly.
They are after all an oil company.

I recognize the car as the PACII car. The above design is the most streamlined "car" in the world . I just have to wonder how a human fits inside of this thing .... and how do they breathe ?.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shepherd777 (Post 387070)

We're hoping to have our new truck at the Houston Eco Marathon event in 2015.

"Not as a contestant of course,"

Oh darn. I'd love to see you on the track next to the Pac II 'car' .

It would be invisible :D

http://universe.byu.edu/wp-content/u...3/06/Car_4.jpg

As you can see, the 'cars' are very small.
And again, how do they breathe in there and not pass out due to heat exhaustion ( the race was run in Houston, Texas last time )

Wow! A "$150" entrant: "Let's do it again."

Quote:

Take one pram, an old vacuum cleaner – and drive

The motto at James Benson Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina is “Failure is not an option”. It is a good motto to have, given that many of its students are from deprived backgrounds and struggle to reach academic success. Brayan Cruz has been a student here for the last three years.

“School wasn’t for me,” says Brayan. “I wanted to drop out.”

Then last year Ricky Lewis, who teaches automotive engineering, urged him to take up the challenge of designing an ultra energy-efficient car to compete in Shell Eco-marathon. With limited resources, it would not be easy:

“Last year, one Eco-marathon team spent $150,000 on their vehicle,” says Ricky. “We’ve spent $150!”
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure

Brayan has worked with teammates to build a streamlined electric car, relying on recycled materials. The driver sits in an old classroom seat and a pram cover serves as an easy-to-open roof, while the car body contains a vacuum cleaner hose and spare bicycle parts.

The team stays in the school workshop as late as 9 p.m. “Usually pizza helps keep them going!” says Ricky. “They’re learning co-operation, confidence and how to get the most out of what extremely limited resources they have.”

Now Brayan faces a new challenge: raising the $550 each student needs to travel from North Carolina to Houston, Texas, for the event.

...self-powered "soapbox derby" racing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by California98Civic (Post 387095)

Wow! A "$150" entrant: "Let's do it again."

Was this the link you were hotlinking to?

Let

Image here of a "pram" baby carriage looking thing.

Dudley Auto Sports - Home
http://dudleymotorsports.weebly.com/...79271_orig.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by kach22i (Post 387242)

Was this the link you were hotlinking to?

Let

Image here of a "pram" baby carriage looking thing.

Dudley Auto Sports - Home
http://dudleymotorsports.weebly.com/...79271_orig.jpg

Thanks for the correction. I guess I damaged the link in posting it. But that's the team. I watched three 23 minute episodes of the various student teams with my daughter too. Quite good production values, and you get to see the ultra low budget high school team struggle to build their entry:
Films - Shell Global

Check it out. It is really interesting to see that they use hypermiling techniques on the course, and that the competition changes the way some of the kids think about driving in general.