What previous competitions were similar to Challenge X? Did any of the technologies devised in those competitions ever make it into production vehicles?
Since 1987, the U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored more than 45 advanced vehicle technology competitions through Argonne National Laboratory, including Formula SAE, Tour de Sol, Propane Challenge, FutureCar, Ethanol Vehicle Challenge, and FutureTruck. These competitions represent a unique coalition of government, industry, and academia who have joined forces to explore sustainable vehicle solutions. Several innovations and ongoing research projects have resulted from the competitions. Most recently, in the FutureTruck 2003 competition, eight teams surpassed the on-road fuel economy of the control vehicle (a 2002 Ford Explorer). The University of Wisconsin – Madison achieved 21.2 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (a 35% improvement) over the control vehicle. The greenhouse gas emissions of eight student vehicles were less than those of the control vehicle, with West Virginia University reducing GHG emissions by an incredible 48%. In the 2000 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge, the winnin
