The Green Mileage

Another school year, another supermileage vehicle team.  And so it is for the MSOE Team Carbonair, which is moving right along toward its goal of better gas mileage at the next SMV competition.

A preliminary computer-generated rendition of the body design

The only thing constant is change, and supermileage is no exception.  The MSOE team has restructured as seniors moved onto their senior design projects and phased out of the group.  Happily, there are well over a dozen eager new students who are interested in joining the team, and as time moves along, everyone will settle into their new roles.

But one thing is the same as last year: before anything can be done, plans must be made.  That’s where the team is right now – spending hours planning the new car.  The competition last summer gave the team lots of ideas for improvement, including fine tuning the engine, experimenting with the body design, adjusting the steering, and so forth.  And so the team members are using their time making these crucial plans and decisions before the physical part of the project gets underway.

More than anything, everyone is excited for the new year and new opportunities.  Mileage projections are well into the 1,000s, and enthusiasm is high amongst all the students.  And as we know from last year, if the drive is there, the results will follow.

I know it’s been a while, but to be honest, after Discovery World, I had some sleep and work to catch up on!

Mike and Cory posing in the Velorex during a microcar presentation at Discovery World.

And I’m very glad that’s the case.  Because that means that Discovery World was a big SUCCESS for the MSOE SMV team.  Brief recap: lots of entertained and informed museum-goers, well-attended talks and presentations, tons of kids completing the activities, and about 3,000 people visiting the museum over four days compared to an average 1,200 people.

Many of the SMV team members turned out to help, led (naturally) by President Sven.  Most members turned out to help every day of the exhibit, whether they handed out free goody bags, chatted with museum-goers about the cars on display, ran the activities, and helped children figure out where they needed to be.  Some people even sweated it out in the hot temperatures to run the RC car track, which the kids loved.  By the end of each day, we were all exhausted and had a new respect for those who put on such exhibits and work with large groups of children on a regular basis.  The kids loved the prizes they won for completing the activities, but hopefully what Team Carbonair put together was more than just an entertaining four days.

Troy signs autographs for his adoring fans.

And I think it was.  During the course of the long weekend, I had people coming up to me to talk about carbon emissions, fuel efficiency, global warming, and the new paths the automotive industry is taking.  Kids were talking to the team about engineering studies, and everyone seemed to be questioning the current fuel economy of most vehicles on the road today.

After the weekend ended, it took about another day to break down the displays and get everything back in its proper place.  Then the trucks were loaded, we said our goodbyes, and the Milwaukee School of Engineering Supermileage Vehicle team officially finished its first year.  The times are changing, and so is the team.  In many ways, the end of Discovery World marked the end of SMV as we know it.  Of course, the SMV team will continue on into next year, working to beat their record and improve their car.  But it will do so without several key members of the team and under new leadership.  More importantly, there will not be such an intense struggle to simply have a performing team as there has been the past few years.

The last drive...

The battle merely to exist pushed the team members forward.  There were no guarantees of success, no securities, no extraneous outside assistance.  They fought tooth and nail to form the club and get to where they are today.  With such success behind them now, it would be easy to get complacent.  Let’s hope that no one takes the easy road.

Whew!  The last of the microcars are being returned to their respective owners this morning, and all the SMV members who have helped out with Discovery World are recovering from the long weekend.  The museum exhibit was a HUGE success.  Everything went off without a hitch, museum attendance was up (about 3,000 over four days), and one of the museum directors personally said the show was one of the best Discovery World has ever hosted.  Look for more updates coming up soon!

SMV Team President Sven was quite happy with the entire event...

Another day of the SuperMileage Exhibit at Discovery World, another success.  Check out the exhibit here and let the SMV team tell their own story!

This week has gone by in a blur of activity, but it’s been the best kind of activity.  Today, we opened the SuperMileage Car Days exhibit at Discovery World in Milwaukee (as featured on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).  And by our measure, it was a huge success, with over 800 visitors attending the exhibit over the course of the day.

SuperMileage Car Days at Discovery World opens its doors...

But just because everything seems to be going along smoothly doesn’t mean that it was easy to get here.  Members of Team Carbonair have been working for months on this presentation, planning the games, activities, prizes, and museum pieces.  Wednesday was spent moving in the various exhibits, which include the four microcars, the plugs for the SMV body, the SMV body molds, the SMV itself, children’s activities, and many posters and video presentations of the entire car-building process.  Our move-in efforts were hampered by serious rainstorms, soaking SMV team members but leaving our important exhibits unscathed.  And after moving a 1,000 pound body mold 50 yards with two guys, a nonfunctional hand truck, a base cart with two out of three wheels demolished, and me trying desperately to help but mostly being ineffectual, we knew we could handle anything.

The dozens of "dream cars" designed by SuperMileage Car Days attendees!

So when the first groups of museum-goers flowed through the doors of Discovery World at 9 am this morning, we were ready for them.  Children and adults alike loved looking at the diminutive microcars, and many people took the time to read the information about each vehicle.  Our games were also a success; kids made tons of keychains and drew imaginative dream cars, winning chances to spin the prize wheel and take home a fun toy.  The audience was blown away by the SMV itself.  No one could believe that a vehicle could achieve over 500 mpg, and everyone was impressed that it was completed solely by students.  I guess I’ve gotten used to the miracles of engineering the SAE SMV competition produces, and it was wonderful to see everyday people expand their ideas about what vehicles are all about.  A highlight of the day occurred when Troy drove the SMV around Discovery World itself, surprising everyone and causing quite a stir amongst the young ladies.  Later on, one girl even cried when she discovered that Troy wasn’t there to autograph a picture of the SMV.  I can only imagine that Troy will soon become the most famous SAE driver ever to have competed.

The exhibit will run through Sunday, and I’m anxious to see what each new day will bring.  If you’re at all in the area, stop on by – I guarantee you won’t regret it.

This week is a HUGE week for the Milwaukee School of Engineering Supermileage Vehicle team.  In case you’ve forgotten, the team members will be showcasing their car at Discovery World in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at SuperMileage Days.  In addition to the SMV, four microcars will be featured: a Heinkel Kabine, a Messerschmitt Kabinenroller, a Reliant Regal, and a Velorex Oskar.  Museum-goers will get a chance to see the cars in person and learn more about them, in addition to all the other fun things planned: games, speakers, and opportunities to see Team Carbonair’s vehicle in action.  Members of the SMV team will be available all weekend to talk with patrons, and guests can expect to take home some goodies, too!

The Discovery World exhibit will be a super time, and that’s where you can find your microcar fix from The Green Mileage this week!  Can’t make it?  Don’t worry – I’ll let you know how it goes!

The Progressive X Prize is rolling right along, with the on-track finals less than a month away.  Only about 15 teams are still in the running out of an original 100 or so, with some surprising and sad eliminations.

The West Philly Focus on the Michigan International Speedway

Probably the most disheartening elimination is the West Philly Hybrid X team, which consists of a group of high school students and their teachers from the inner city.  This group has been making fuel efficient vehicles for years now, and from the sounds of their blog, they were thrilled to have advanced as far as they did in the X Prize competition.  However, their vehicle (a plug-in hybrid Focus with a Harley 1.4L V twin engine and an electric motor) was just over one mpg short of the minimum cut-off range.  Still, to make it this far among internationally-recognized automotive engineers is a huge accomplishment, and I’m sure the group will keep working to show the world what’s possible.  I mean, think about it – if a group of high school kids and their teachers can build a road-ready car that gets significantly better mileage than what current manufacturers offer, are ultra-efficient cars really so far away?

Western Washington University's entry

The rest of the teams will advance to the final testing, which will occur July 19-30.  There are a few predictions for the final results: the Edison2 team, one of only two teams left in the mainstream four-passenger class, is expected to be successful in the final testing, with previous results at over 100 mpg before adding penalties; the Swiss X Tracer Team has two cars left in the running in the tandem two-seater class, both of which obtained well over 150 mpg, so they’re front runners in that category; don’t count out Western Washington University, whose car is still plugging along; and lastly, Li-ion Motors had the highest efficiency ratings of side-by-side two-seaters with 182.3 mpg.  You can check out the full results here.

The Swiss X Tracer two-wheeler

Of course, this all might not mean anything.  It’s still possible that no teams will meet all the qualifications (which were previously called “too easy”) and that no one goes home with the prize money.  As we know, in competition anything is possible.  During the previous track testing or knockout testing, there were tornado-like conditions, which I presume altered things for competitors.  Who knows what might happen in a few weeks.  Regardless of the final results, I think the X Prize is getting what it wanted: serious innovation not limited by societal constraints.

And the Progressive X Prize isn’t stopping there; it was recently announced that they would like to host a competition to fix the BP oil spill.  While people have already been sending in ideas on how to help the situation in the Gulf, there’s nothing like a few million dollars to sweeten the deal!

I’m excited to see where how the X Prize cars pan out.  Maybe I’ve been hanging around microcars and SMVs too much, but I’m not as worried about what the final result will look like.  Does it get good gas mileage and will it keep me from becoming instant roadkill in a crash?  Sign me up!  I also think there is a growing population of people who are thinking along those same lines.

And I bet some of those people will be attending Supermileage Days at Discovery World, which kicks off one week from today!

So if my posting is a little erratic this week, it’s because I’m driving to California to deliver a car to my sister, Jaime.  Driving and blogging do not mix, but I wanted to take some time to share with you some observations I’ve made on the 2,000 plus miles I’ve traveled.

Wind is happening!  In almost every state, I’ve seen windmills.  I’ve also seen lots of places where wind power would be very feasible, just like those flat stretches of desert that would be perfect for solar panels.  However, those places are usually sparsely populated, so we would need new, improved ways of storing and transporting these energy forms.  While some say that putting renewables into use would be a waste of time and resources in these Northwestern states, I say that we can use wind and solar power to get these places off the traditional oil and coal fuels.

Speaking of, I saw oil drilling firsthand in these lonesome, sagebrush-filled fields.  The oil rigs looked like something from half a century ago – giant metal birds mindlessly sucking fuel from the earth.  Have we evolved since then?  Granted, these locations seem like safer places to drill than in the middle of the ocean.

Nature's racetrack...

There’s certainly some mining going on out West, as well, although I saw more mineral and rock mining than coal mining.  How strange to see mountains being carved away!

The most prevalent transportation form besides autos?  Trains!  Absolutely huge numbers of incredibly long trains, some with three engines pushing and pulling them along.  Trains consume quite small amounts of fuels, and some can run off biofuels, as well.

And for all the car buffs out there, I did make a stop at the salt flats outside Wendover, Utah, where land speed records are set on the sodium-filled ground.  While I didn’t set any records, I did drive around a bit!

Now I’m in California, where the original electric car lived and died, and where the green scene is about as hot as it gets in the United States.  I’ll keep my eyes open for signs of green cars!

Maybe it’s because I’m driving a car out to my sister in California this week, but for Micro Monday, I’m taking a look at the Berkeley T60.  This car might look familiar because it was designed by a guy I’ve already talked about, Laurie Bond.

I can see why the company was called Berkeley rather than naming it after its hometown: Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England.  But the company wasn’t an exclusive microcar manufacturer, although it did produce the small cars from 1956 through 1960.  Rather, Berkeley made what the Brits called caravans, but what we would call camper trailers.  Berkeley’s owner, Charles Panter, was looking for a project to work on during the downtown in his factory, so he and Bond teamed up to make “something good enough to win World 750cc races… but cheap, safe, easily repairable and pretty.”

The Berkeley

Berkeley produced several different vehicles, but I’ll fill you in on its only three-wheeler: the T60.  This was produced in 1959 where it was a considerable success; remember, three-wheelers could be driven solely on motorcycle licenses and accrued much cheaper taxes than their four-wheeled friends.  The micro featured a 328cc engine, four speeds (plus reverse), and was available in both hard and soft tops.  The body was fiberglass and most models were two-seaters, although very few had a child’s seat fitted over the third wheel in the rear.  The little auto had front wheel drive and a trailing arm replaced the swing axle suspension of four-wheeled cars.  The car was met with good reviews and people thought it was zippy, economical, and fun to drive with a top speed of 60 mph (hence the 60 in its name).  It certainly looks a bit more stable than the Reliant, another British tri-wheeler that featured a single front wheel and had the remarkable ability to tip over on a whim.

About 4,100 Berkeley cars were made altogether, but sadly, the company was not long for this world.  In 1960, the company collapsed and was liquidated.  Panter and Bond tried to work out a deal to save the Berkeley car, but to no avail.  The last Berkeley car was sold in 1961.

I was in the shop of the Middleton High School the other day.  Immediately, I remembered where this whole SMV thing started.  When Sven, the MSOE SMV president, brought the idea of a supermileage vehicle team to his school’s chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers, it wasn’t a project he’d heard about or merely seen on YouTube.  It was a project he’d already lived – in high school.

Oh, the memories...

That’s right, SMV isn’t just for university students.  There are competitions for high school students, as well.  And that’s where Sven caught the SMV bug: in Middleton High School, with the help of advisor Brian Morstad and a team of dedicated students.

Middleton’s team competed for two years at the University of Wisconsin-Stout competition, which is held annually every spring.  The high school version of supermileage (previously called High Mileage Vehicle or HMV) does run a little bit differently than its collegiate counterpart.  There are four classes: Briggs & Stratton stock, open stock (any engine with the same specs as the B & G one), modified stock (allowing some engine mods), and open, which allows any kind of engine.  Of course, the students have to follow many of the same safety procedures and must pass similar tests and inspections at the competition, but the specifications were easier to adhere to and required less accuracy.

The top part of the first year's HMV body

The vehicles seen at the high school level are also quite different, but definitely innovative in their own ways. Students at the university level do have the potential to get big name sponsors.  At the competition in Marshall, many teams sported stickers from major car manufacturers.  Some had companies make their car bodies in their entirety to the tune of $25,000 and up.  At the high school level, such sponsorships can be more difficult to find, and students are more limited in their knowledge base.

Sven competed in 2004 and 2006, and his team’s car obtained 640.5 mpg and 423.5 mpg respectively.  They won their fair share of awards and were rewarded for their hard work and dedication.  Other members of the MSOE SMV team, like Nathan and Travis, also competed in HMV at the high school level.  And thank goodness that competition is around, because without that, it’s doubtful whether Team Carbonair would exist at all.