Student-Led Teams Crowned in GM-Sponsored EcoCAR 2 Challenge

A standard family car, the Chevy Malibu has been a staple in the GM lineup for generations. But over the last three years, it has also been the subject of an intense competition among teams of college students all across the country. Of course, we’re talking about the EcoCAR 2 competition, which pins 15 college teams against one another as they design and build Chevy vehicles to demonstrate industry-leading eco-friendly technologies.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Energy in correspondence with GM announced the overall winner and runner-ups in the latest three-year competition focused on converting 2013 Malibu models into superior eco-friendly vehicles. And just this last weekend, GeekWire took a second look at the second-place team’s award-winning vehicle.

According to the EcoCAR 2 website, Ohio State University’s team of engineering students took top honors with their version of an eco-friendly Malibu, featuring the ability to achieve 50 miles per gallon gas equivalent (MPGGE) with the use of 315 Watt-hours per mile of electricity. The team impressed the competition’s judges even more by over halfing their Malibu’s emissions compared to the standard car. The team’s first-place win also came in correspondence with the meeting and exceeding all the EcoCAR 2 goals set forth for them.

Just like the Ohio State team, the University of Washington’s Advanced Vehicle Works team worked extensively on their Malibu to achieve the program’s goals and win a number of coveted awards, including one for the lowest energy consumption and another for the lowest greenhouse gas emissions.

These awards and an overall second-place finish came on the fenders of the university’s unique Malibu design, which featured a B20 biodiesel engine to drive the front wheels and an electric motor good for 250hp to drive the rear wheels.

With this setup, the car can go 48 miles on an electric charge before it switches over to power from the biodiesel engine. The parallel plug-in hybrid was able to obtain a 60 MPGGE rating with 333 Watt-hours per mile of electricity.

An E85 model built and designed by Pennsylvania State University students rounded out the top three eco-friendly vehicles.

The EcoCAR 3 challenge starts up next year with student teams from universities across the country being invited to participate, including a team from the University of Washington. Similar in structure, the future competition will deal with Camaros, however, rather than Malibus.

Congratulations goes out to all of the participating teams, especially those who took home top honors.