Diesel Equinox in Clean Car Challenge

DETROIT - Biodiesel was the fuel of choice in GM’s Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility, a competition among 17 university teams across North America to create the most fuel efficient and least polluting Chevrolet Equinox.

General Motors Corp. assembled the student teams at its downtown Detroit headquarters, where they showed off their re-engineered Equinoxes and chauffeured journalists with short test drives.

Twelve teams chose biodiesel fuel (B20) as the primary fuel source, including the winning group from Mississippi State University. That team took the first place prize with a parallel hybrid electric vehicle, where both engine and the electric motor generate the power to drive the wheels. Containing a 1.9-liter GM direct injection turbo diesel engine fueled by B20, their design yielded a 48 percent increase in fuel economy over the stock Equinox SUV.

Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, also went the biodiesel route with a 1.9 liter diesel turbocharged engine, to snag second place. Virginia Tech was awarded third place overall with a split parallel hybrid architecture that runs on E85 ethanol with a 2.3-liter turbo spark ignition engine provided by Saab.

“We view this as an opportunity to look at 17 different approaches to the same problem,” said Mark Maher, GM executive director for powertrain-vehicle integration who also directs the Challenge X project.

Maher said where diesel and biodiesel make sense, many of the student applications are worth exploring. He sees most of those opportunities in diesel rich Europe, but not necessarily in North America.

The engineering project not only helps the next generation of engineers get real-world experience, but also serves as a recruitment opportunity for GM. Larry Burns, vice president of GM Research and Development, said GM has already hired 40 students from the first two years of the competition.

“And we intend to extend several offers at the conclusion of this year’s program,” Burns said.

Just one team, from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, configured a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Team co-leader Erik Wilhelm said their FCV Equinox is fueled with 4.3 kg hydrogen stored at 350bar and with a nickel metal hydride battery. The fuel cell itself was provided by Hydrogenics Corp. based in Canada. The Waterloo vehicle has a range of between 120 and 170 miles, he said.

“The biggest challenge was getting all the exotic powertrain components and controls to work together,” Wilhelm said.

Later this year, GM plans to place 100 fuel cell-outfitted Equinoxes with consumers in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. next year to test everyday driving and durability.

“We were really happy to see GM’s (FCV Equinox) because we had some of the same architecture,” Wilhelm said.

Three other teams, including Pennsylvania State University, Texas Tech University and the University of Tulsa – also are using hydrogen as a secondary propulsion source. Penn State is injecting hydrogen into their vehicle's diesel engine to lower emissions. The Texas Tech and Tulsa teams are using hydrogen to power their vehicles’ auxiliary systems.

The Challenge X began in 2004, with student teams focused on vehicle simulation and modeling. Students have been integrating their advanced powertrains and subsystems into the Chevrolet Equinox in the second and third years of the project. In the fourth and final year, students will focus on customer acceptability and over-the-road reliability and durability.

GM and the U.S. Department of Energy are the primary Challenge X sponsors. Additional sponsors include AVL, Caterpillar, National Instruments, Freescale Semiconductor, Johnson Controls and MotoTron

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LVPAJetta said:

I'm sorry... 12 out of 17 US University teams saw the performance and applicability of diesel/biodiesel technology for this project and GM still doesn't "see the opportunity here." They've got their heads shoved so far... well, you get what I'm saying. I just hope they have a flashlight.

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...most fuel efficient and least polluting Chevrolet Equinox...

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d'dorf said:

Maher said where diesel and biodiesel make sense, many of the student applications are worth exploring. He sees most of those opportunities in diesel rich Europe, but not necessarily in North America.

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Vipervnm said:

You took the words right out of my mouth. Unless they wake the F up, they're doomed. Cadillac, Saturn, and even Pontiac are completing successful turnarounds. How about lead the pack in an innovative direction for the first time in decades instead of being the last to the party...I hope that fuel cell materializes. I'm very curious.

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cptmox said:

Europe obviously is a diesel rich environment, but BD isn't as big an opportunity due to more limited agriculture possibilities.

NA is not a diesel rich environment (well...actually it is, we just haven't figured it out yet. Read above post about heads up a$$es), but has the agricultural capacity.

So GM goes goo-goo-gaa-gaa over the dumb-arse pipe dream hydrogen powered POS.

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TomB said:

Maher said where diesel and biodiesel make sense, many of the student applications are worth exploring. He sees most of those opportunities in diesel rich Europe, but not necessarily in North America.

Again, the reason I will never buy GM again after our family buying them since the 50's and me for over 20 years.

I switched to VW, never to return. I sent many letter and placed many calls over the years giving GM my opinion only to be ignored. The last good engine from GM was the Oldsmobile QUAD4 HO, 2.3L 4 valve per cylinder port fuel injection. 190 HP. 28 MPG around town in a Grand Am and 35 on the highway.

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