EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge is a new three-year collegiate advanced vehicle technology
engineering competition established by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and
General Motors and is being managed by Argonne National Laboratory. More information
is available at www.ecoCARchallenge.org.

EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge is part of a long chain of efficent vehicle contests hosted by the DOE and GM.  This contest follows the previous contest that Rose-Hulman particpated in, ChallengeX.  In the ChallengeX competition, teams modified a Chevy Equinox to improve it's performance.  In EcoCAR Rose-Hulman and the 16 other competing will be modifying a Saturn VUE by turning it into a Hybrid-Electric/ Hydrogen Fuel Cell/ Electric Vehicle to create a GREENER, more environmental frendly vehicle for tomorrow.

The first year of the competition is designated to choosing an architecture and building it with computer technology. The second year is used to build the actual vehicle using the designs developed in year one. The third year is meant to optimize the performance and other consumer acceptability aspects of the reengineered Saturn VUE.

Each team is justed on the abilities of their hybrid, how consumer-friendly their car is, and how well they market their car and the perks of sustainability. These aspects are judged using the same tests by GM when testing a new prototype.