(Detroit, Mich) The Wayne State College of Engineering Ethanol Team is putting the finishing touches on its vehicle as it enters the final weeks before the 1998 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. The national competition, sponsored by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors Corporation (GM), challenges top automotive engineering students from schools across the country to design, build and test dedicated ethanol-fueled vehicles.

Bogdan Nitu, a member of 10-member WSU team, exuded confidence two weeks before the competition to begin May 25 at the GM Proving Grounds in Milford, Mich. "We will finish first", Mr. Nitu said simply. Team members have put in 15 to 20 hours a week redesigning the car's fuel system and performing other modifications in addition to holding down part-time jobs and attending classes.

The WSU and the other 13 teams in the competition aim to prove that ethanol-driven vehicles can be a viable green alternative to conventional cars. Industry is facing the challenge spelled out in Energy Conservation Act with the aim of replacing at least 30 percent of all vehicles on the road with alternative fuel vehicles by the year2010.

Last September, the teams received a 1997 Chevrolet Malibu powered by a3.1-liter V6 engine, plus one spare engine, from GM. The students then put their engineering skills to the test. The challenge is tore-engineer the vehicle to run on a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline (E85). The objective of the competition is to optimize fuel economy, emissions, and cold-start characteristics without sacrificing drive ability and performance.

The Ethanol Challenge teams are demonstrating in the most tangible and practical sense that domestic fuels and today's automobiles are a winning combination. E85 is good for our economy and good for our environment, said Tom Gross, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Technologies, USDOE. We believe this program has been an important factor in supporting the development and utilization of alternative fueled vehicles. Our entire organization is always tremendously impressed with the abilities, determination and accomplishments of the students who participate in the program.

Besides Wayne State University, the competing schools are: Cedarville College, Ohio - Crowder College, Missouri - GMI Engineering & Management Institute, Michigan - Idaho State University - Illinois Institute of Technology - Mankato State University, Minnesota - University of California, Riverside - University of Illinois at Chicago - University of Kansas - University of Nebraska, Lincoln - University of Texas at Austin - University of Texas at El Paso, and University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

The Wayne State team members are: Chris Day, 29, of Livonia, John Auld,25, of Grosse Pointe Farms, Anthony Morelli, 21, of Fraser, Jeff Jarvis,21, of Warren, Paul Nahra, 22, of Macomb Township, Jeff Wuttke, 23, of Sterling Heights, John Shinska, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, Cliff Lyons, 32,of Detroit, Bogdan Nitu, 33, of Detroit, and Greg Goleski, 22, of Clinton Township. Dinu Taraza, professor of mechanical engineering, is their advisor.

GM Vice President and Chief Environmental Officer, Dennis R. Minano, said "The 1998 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge will contribute significantly to a better understanding of the use of ethanol as a motor vehicle fuel. GM is pleased to sponsor this event because it allows us to work with so many energized students from excellent schools. We wish all teams the best of luck

After five days of competition in Milford, the teams will motorcade to Washington, DC where they will join the activities of the National Clean Cities Conference. On June 2nd, the students and sponsors will display their vehicles on the Capitol grounds.

Other sponsors of the event are Natural Resources Canada, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Council of Great Lakes Governors, Renewable Fuels Association, and Illinois Corn Marketing Board. Numerous companies and associations have also joined in support of the competition, including Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, Williams Energy Services Group, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Howell Hydrocarbons and Chemicals, Delphi Automotive Systems and GROWMARK.

For more information, contact David Reich, (313) 577-6531


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Student alternative vehicle designers unconcerned about the long-term stakes
(Detroit, Mich.) No car company will survive the 21st century if it relies solely on the combustion engine, General Motors Corporation Chairman Jack Smith stated at this years International Auto Show in Detroit. But some wonder why America has not yet replaced a significant number of gasoline powered cars on the road with leaner and greener machines.

A web of government incentives and hard-biting penalties is driving carmakers to produce more alternative fuel vehicles -- electric, hybrid, ethanol, fuel cell and natural gas. Upstart young companies jockey toward announcing major breakthroughs in zero emission technologies. But with a massive infrastructure in place to support the gasoline-powered car and with the American consumers hunger for speed, power, modest pricing and range, the forces are very difficult to overcome.

John Auld, 25, a member of the Wayne State University Ethanol Vehicle Team, has neither the time nor inclination to ponder these questions as he and his teammates put the final touches on their modified 1997 Chevy Malibu. They are entering the car in the 1998 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge to begin Monday, May 25 at the GM Proving Grounds in Milford, Mich. Auld was immediately turned off by the bureaucratic hoops it took for his team to obtain a copy of a laboratory key, much less think about the political and economic obstacles in the way of putting a significant number of alternative vehicles on Americas highways.

It is even hard for Auld to admit that by working to improve the performance of a single flexible ethanol vehicle, he may be contributing in some small way to the eventual reduction of green house gases. If they (GM and the industry in general), are able to take two advancements from this competition, then that's two steps toward a solution, he says.

Teammate Jeff Wuttke, 23, has no illusions about a glut of alternative fuel vehicles in the near future. He is more into the competition for the technological experience than for any environmental benefit it may reap in the long run. In fact, Wuttke questioned the motives of GM, the competition's major sponsor. There would be so much for them to gain by coming out with a fleet of these ethanol vehicles, he says, explaining that according to federal requirements, auto makers are taxed for every vehicle produced that does not meet strict emissions limits.

Not that ethanol isn't a beautiful fuel. Ethanol would be great if there happens to be another embargo and oil crisis. But people would have to go back to farming because there's not enough ethanol fuel out there right now for the consumer demand if there should be one. Ethanol is made from farm crops, including corn.

The competition has spawned creative problem solving among student teams from 14 schools throughout the country. Its sponsors hope to glean some solutions that could advance ethanol vehicle technology, not to mention draw some media attention and public discussion regarding alternative fuel vehicles. At Wayne State University, Team Ethanol addressed the low performance problem of ethanol versus gasoline with special pistons designed to increase the engine's compression ratio. Ethanol burns far cleaner than gasoline, but currently produces less mileage per gallon. Cold starting ethanol vehicles in temperatures below 30 degrees is also problematic.

Something will come of this competition, says Auld. It could be the special pistons that separate his car from the others in the field. It could be a student who comes up with a simple solution to the problem they're looking for. Our ideas are there. Our approach is there. We're going just to see if the other schools can come up with solutions.

The 1998 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge commences Monday, May 25. After five days of competition in Milford, the teams motorcade to Washington, D.C. where they will join the activities of the National Clean Cities Conference. On June 2, the students and sponsors will display their vehicles on the Capitol grounds.

There will be a special reception for Team Ethanol Thursday, May 21, at4:00 p.m. in the high bay area of the Manufacturing Engineering the Wayne State University Campus. At that time the team will present their project report to invited guests and the media. am, exuded confidence two weeks Milford, Mich.