RE: re: TourDeSol 2005Well I still can see all the results but I did find the winner....
Juggernaut will have fun at the longs expense again....
A high school team from philly...
Copyright 2005 Philadelphia Daily News
All Rights Reserved
Philadelphia Daily News
May 17, 2005 Tuesday 4STAR EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. 03
LENGTH: 687 words
HEADLINE: W. Philly High automakers v-r-o-o-m to national title;
Team's eco-friendly car bests entries from Toyota, Honda, major universities
BYLINE: By G.W. MILLER III; millerg@phillynews.com
BODY:
THE WEST Philadelphia High School team's custom-built, 300-horsepower hot rod - fueled by soybean oil and electricity - busted an axle during a joy-ride Saturday afternoon, and it looked as if the team's championship dreams were over.
But the team of seven students and their faculty advisers stayed up late, awoke early and repaired the sleek, fuel-efficient, one-of-a-kind car in time to win the 17th annual Tour de Sol, an eco-friendly auto show and competition in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Yesterday, New York Gov. George Pataki honored the team as the best overall entry in the four-day challenge.
"I was beside myself!" said Simon Hauger, a math and science teacher at West Philadelphia High, who heads the Electrical Vehicle Program.
It was the second time a team from the school won the overall prize. It last won in 2002.
Among the 15 hybrid, solar and biofueled cars in this year's competition were vehicles from Toyota and Honda, and entries from major universities, independent auto enthusiasts and high schools from across the country. "What I'm really excited about is that we beat the production cars," Hauger said.
A modified Honda Insight broke the 100-mile-per-gallon barrier, but the West Philly vehicle was the best all-around performer in the five-category competition - acceleration, obstacle course, fuel efficiency, range and low pollution.
"One of our goals is zero oil consumption and zero climate-change emissions," said Tour de Sol organizer Nancy Hazard. "The team from West Philadelphia was the closest to that goal."
The local squad beat Western Washington University - a federally subsidized and nationally recognized auto program - by one gram, Hazard said.
After Hauger drove the car through the obstacle course on Saturday, one of the other West Philadelphia teachers ran the course just to see if he could top Hauger's official time. During the run, however, they blew an axle.
"It wasn't his fault," Hauger said. "We had really been abusing the car."
The team found an axle at a local auto shop and spent that night and Sunday morning frantically repairing the car. Other teams helped the West Philadelphia squad, allowing it to use their generators and lights.
"It's a competition but everyone is like family," said West Philadelphia High's captain, Devereaux Knight, 18.
Shortly after fixing the car, Knight and Hauger sped across New York for the 200-mile roundtrip range event.
"The scenery was excellent," said Knight. "The trees, the lakes, the mountains... it was like we were in another world."
On the ride, the car averaged more than 50 mpg. Organizers of the sustainable-energy competition estimated that more than 5,000 people watched the events and checked out the cars. When the West Philadelphia car was displayed between events, it was swamped by admirers.
"There were about 300 cars displayed, including a beautiful Bugatti sports car, and our car got the most attention," said Hauger.
"They came to our car because it looks good," Hauger continued, "but then it turns out that it's fuel-efficient and people are blown away."
Hauger said that the students were answering questions from people all day. Knight, a graduating senior who plans to become a mechanic and engineer, said he felt like a celebrity.
"One person wouldn't leave," he said. "He kept asking me questions: 'Where did you get the body from? How fast does it go? How much did it cost?' "
It took the students two years to piece the car together. The body and frame are from a European kit. The students foraged for parts, installed a 200-horsepower electric motor in the front and a 100-horsepower Volkswagen turbo diesel engine in the rear. They adapted mounts and reconfigured wires in their auto shop, about a block from the high school's Walnut Street campus.
Some of the students visited the Tour de Sol last year, but they didn't enter the competition. They told the other teams about the car they were creating.
"They knew it was coming," Knight said. "They were waiting for us. But to see everybody's faces when we showed up with that car... they didn't believe it."
LOAD-DATE: May 17, 2005