Year two has come to a close for the EcoCar3 competition, and we have a winner. Defending its title from the EcoCar2 competition is The Ohio State University, which has won the year two award with its fuel efficient 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.
OSU will return to Columbus, Ohio with the bragging rights, and an additional $10,000 after earning 880 out of a possible 1,000 points for this leg of the competition. The team also had an impressive 11 first place category finishes, and placed top five in 30 out of 36 categories.
“The second year of the four-year competition added a level of complexity that definitely tested each of the 16 EcoCAR 3 teams in reworking the propulsion system of the 2016 Camaro,” said Al Oppenhesier, Chevrolet Camaro Vehicle Chief Engineer. “Even with these new challenges, the students from Ohio State displayed an exceptional ability to integrate their Series Parallel Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) system, transforming this high-performance vehicle into a uniquely eco-friendly alternative. Achieving such results is an impressive feat given the short time that they had with the vehicle.”
Each team now moves into the third year of the four year competition, which began in 2014, and will conclude in 2018.
Comment
PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) should suggest that this Camaro may things we may see in Cadillac’s CT6 Hybrid as well as the future of car designs in general as electric propulsion of some type is the only way to achieve high fuel mileage.