So we have some good news and bad news…. and we are assuming you might want the bad news first…

The team has faced some hurdles this week, and unfortunately the last few hurdles just seemed to come one right after the other. While our Malibu will not perform anymore vehicle dynamic events at the Year Two EcoCAR Final competition, the team still has a ton to be proud of. It is not everyday that college students are able to build a vehicle having an extremely complex vehicle architecture,  pass Safety Tech Inspections, pass On-Road Safety Evaluation and excel in the first dynamic test event, maximum lateral acceleration. Great job, engineering team.

It is only good news after this, we promise..

On Welcome Night, it was released that THE Ohio State University won the “Best Progress Reports” award for their outstanding technical writing skills and very thorough reports. Last night it was announced that the team also won “Best Final Technical Report”, which means it has been a SWEEP for the OSU EcoCAR 2 engineering team!!!!!!! Go Buckeyes!!!

The team also brought home their 7th first place award last night in the “Best Collaboration with a Clean Cities Coalition” video in collaboration with Clean Fuels Ohio. Check out the video here on YouTube!

In addition to winning two more awards, the team gave two final presentations today in Static Consumer Acceptability (SCA) and Vehicle Design Review (VDR).  Both presentations and the displays were fantastic!!! SCA presenters spoke about the increased touchscreen size, as VDR presenters explained the  powertrain of the vehicle.

The team also had a guest visitor the past few days. The OSU’s College of Engineering Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Services, Professor David Tomasko, traveled all of the way from Columbus, OH to see exactly what competition was all about. Thanks for visiting Dr. Tomasko!

We told you…we had a lot of good news.

The vehicle might not have run as expected, but things happen. If anything…it has helped us. Our team is more fired up then every perform. We are catching up on some zzz’s in Yuma, and are headed to San Diego to kick some presentation butt!!!

The team had a fantastic day with multiple milestones out at GM’s Desert Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona. Just after lunch, the team officially past Safety Tech Inspections, which is the first step in completing all of the vehicle dynamic event activities. Safety is a top concern of the competition, so passing is no easy task. Competition organizers inspect nearly every centimeter of the vehicle, including the high voltage system, wiring harnesses, the exhaust system, the cooling system and much more. Ohio State was the 4th university to pass, closely followed by Mississippi State University.

Shortly after getting the green sticker for safety tech, the team completed its first true driving test of the vehicle – On Road Safety Evaluation. The On Road Safety Evaluation event is designed to test the vehicle’s static and dynamic characteristics by performing a wide range of maneuvers. Tests performed by the professional driver from GM included a serpentine course, 50 MPH ABS Stops, lane changes and braking in a 35mph turn. Just like Safety Tech, On Road Safety Evaluation is a pre-requisite for most of the dynamic vehicle tests, so it is essential that a team pass in order to still be competitive in the competition.

And boy did our 2013 Chevy Malibu pass!!!! Watching the Malibu drive around the course was like watching our baby trying to walk for the first time – unreal (and we were all hoping that nothing would go wrong or break). Our vehicle passed with flying colors!!! The GM driver who was testing the vehicle also had a great time. With two thumbs up as he brought our car back to a stop, he told us that our car, “handles like a dream.”

Congrats to the entire Ohio State EcoCAR team on all of your hard work. It surely paid off today, and will continue to the rest of the week!!! O-H!!!!!!!!!!!!

But not only is it heating up outside, it’s heating up in the garage. The pressure is on to pass Safety and Technical Inspections, aka the inspection that needs to be passed in order to drive the vehicle in all of the driving events. Passing “Safety Tech” is crucial for any team as the majority of the Year Two Engineering points come from all vehicle dynamic events, such as acceleration, braking and overall handling and performance. And OSU is so close to passing! The team is just finishing up a few small projects on the vehicle and then we will be able to start dynamic events!

Over the past two days, the team has been refining controls, tightening bolts and chasing electrical gremlins. “It has been great to see all of our hard work coming together at final competition. It has been really neat to see all of the other vehicles in the competition” said Curtiss Stewart, mechanical team member. This is his first time at the GM Desert Proving Grounds and at an EcoCAR Final Competition; and he has been working hard get the vehicle to pass Safety Tech.

The first test the vehicle will undergo once it passed Safety Tech is a general shakedown to show all the systems function as intended and that they are working together. Stay tuned for more updates about the team’s progress in Yuma, Arizona at the General Motor’s Desert Proving Grounds!

College students turning a stock vehicle into a hybrid??? Yeah right. It has not been a walk in the park to get here. The past year (especially the past few months and the few days right before the car shipped), were very difficult for the team. Unexpected challenges arose, components didn’t arrive on time, computers crashed….trust us, the list goes on and on. But the real amazing part was, that throughout the entire year, the team has never lost sight of the main goal : Having a competitive running vehicle at competition and of course, coming out on top of the field of 15 total universities.

Hard work really does pay off. The team just got back from the first official festivities of the EcoCAR 2 Competition  - “Welcome Night”. The infamous night filled with fun and laughter…otherwise known as the, “calm before the storm”.

Welcome Night has become a highlight for the team – especially because of the release of awards for pre-competition deliverables AND of course, the showing of all the skit videos…Which has become an OSU specialty In fact, the team took home the 2nd place award this year for their skit video!!! This years skit video took a ton of effort, amazing acting skills, skillful dancing and an awesome video editor (thanks Tyler J!!!).

Now of course the team is very excited about the skit video, however, a number of other awards were released from the competition tonight. Here are the results:

1st Place Business Plan

1st Place Sponsorship Pitch and Tabletop Display

1st Place Business Results Report

1st Place Modeling and Simulation Award

1st Place Best Progress Reports

Current Standings, Communications - 3rd Place out of 15 universities

Current Standings, Business – 1st Place out of 15 universities

Current Standings – Overall (Top 6 Teams)

6) Penn State

5) University of Waterloo

4) University of Victoria

3) Virginia Tech

2)  Mississippi State

1) The Ohio State University

Safe to say the Ohio State EcoCAR team has hit the ground running for the EcoCAR 2 Year Two Final Competition. Stay tuned for an update tomorrow as we head to General Motor’s Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona to unpack our pit and begin inspections on our vehicle!!

The radio was live from 11:20 – 11:40am on WOSU All Sides hosted by Ann Fisher. Katherine Bovee, one of the EcoCAR team leaders and Dr. Shawn Midlam-Mohler, one of the faculty advisors of the team spoke to Ann about the competition, the OSU vehicle and what the team is currently working on!

Some of the highlights from the team’s influencer efforts this year include:

-        Congressman Bill Johnson, OH – Visited the OSU Center for Automotive Research and learned specifically about the OSU vehicle design. Congressman Johnson, serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

-        State Senator Troy Balderson, OH– Visited the OSU Center for Automotive Research to learn more about natural gas trends and related initiatives at the university, such as the OSU EcoCAR team. He had the chance to tour the student garage and speak with a few team members!

-        Hilliard City Council – In the upcoming weeks, the OSU EcoCAR team will be visiting Hilliard City Council to discuss the sustainability initiatives at the University, as well as why advanced technology vehicles are vital. The team is also collaborating with Hilliard to attend their upcoming Earth Fest celebration!

The team would like to thank all of the influencers for visiting and is excited to continue to reach out to influencers next year!

The Auto Show, which normally draws a crowd of over 25,000 over a four-day event, is not a stranger to the advanced vehicle display. Last year the OSU EcoCAR team and Clean Fuels Ohio partnered to host “Green and Made in Ohio”. To build upon the display using reviews from last years’ Auto Show attendees, the display for the 2013 show encompassed a diverse group of vehicles. Vehicles and charging stations on display at the show included the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu (provided by Bobby Layman Chevy), the Chevrolet Cruze Eco and EV and CNG charging stations from multiple local providers.

“It is always rewarding to collaborate with Clean Fuels Ohio,” said Sarah Vasey, the OSU EcoCAR Business Manager. “It was really great to talk to so many people who were genuinely interested in learning   about hybrid vehicles.”

The OSU EcoCAR team would like to thank Clean Fuels Ohio, the 2013 Columbus Auto Show, and all of the display providers on a great show!  To check out some of the cool vehicles that were on display at the Auto Show, be sure to check out the OSU EcoCAR’s latest video blog post “ ‘the garage: Episode 3”!

The batteries are a crucial part of the OSU’s vehicle design. These seven 18.9kW-hr battery packs donated from A123  Systems will be used in the Charge Depleting operating mode of the vehicle. They will allow the vehicle to travel nearly 50 miles on all electric mode before even having to turn on the engine!

However, this doesn’t mean the team is taking a break! In fact, the next few weeks will be some of the most challenging in the competition.

Why you ask??

Because in just 3.5 weeks, the Ohio State team will be hosting 5 other EcoCAR teams for the Pre-Competition Safety & Technical Inspections at the OSU Center for Automotive Research (CAR). The inspections and tests range over five different categories, including mechanical, electrical, GM Diagnostic, Data & Documentation and Vehicle Review. The other EcoCAR teams that will be traveling to CAR for the week include, Penn State, Waterloo, Wayne State, Rose-Hulman and Purdue!

While the team is excited to be hosting Inspections, there is a lot of work to be done! The team is trying to complete a working rear powertrain, and have the front powertrain installed!