An Environmentally Friendly Muscle Car

An Environmentally Friendly Muscle Car An Environmentally Friendly Muscle Car An Environmentally Friendly Muscle CarEnvironmentalists, start your engines?When you think about the Camaro, the term muscle car comes to mind. But the term green? Maybe not. But thats what a competition like EcoCAR3, partly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, is about changing the publics thinking with regard to what a car like the Camaro can be. Its fast, yes. But it could also be an environmentally friendly with new design specs.A team at the University of Alabama has leapt forward in the process. This four-year competition has seen them finish eighth nationally in their first year and then vaulting to fourth overall after the second year of the competition. Now theyre ramping up to try and do even better in Year 3, now at roughly the halfway point in the competition.Josh Stoddard, project manager and engineering manager for the team, has been involved in the competition for the school since the beginning. The first year was mostly design work and choosing an architecture and designating how torque will be produced in the vehicle, he says. You do a bunch of analysis on how crazy you want to get in design and what can you feasibly do and what you can afford to do. It also involves doing customer research to figure out how to market this. With the Camaro, we want to retain the Camaro sports car way, but also determine where it can be a hybrid. The first year wraps up with a completed design and chosen architecture.Students transform a classic American car into an environmentally friendly vehicle. Image The University of AlabamaTeam member Trevor Ford said going forward with Year 2 involved a large amount of redesigning. The fuel tank was an example, offers Ford, a senior mechanical engineering major. Its now made out of aluminum. Also, working on a coolant system, replacing with aluminum hard lines. The rubber version was bulky. And redesigning mounts for certain motors. We h ave the P-1 and P-3 motors. They are electric motors and we redesigned mounts for those because we have the liberty of where we can put it. Theres no set space on where it has to be.For Year 3s competition, Ford says their Camaro is slated to be drivable and the competition itself will have them at General Motors headquarters right outside of Detroit for testing in the first week. The second week will take distributions-mix in Washington, DC, where the team will give presentations for sponsors and organizers of the competition covering everything theyve worked on. Both weeks are after the conclusion of their spring semester.Ford explains the structure of the team, which has electrical team leads, mechanical team leads, and an engineering manager. They are working extremely hard in the lab, sometimes theyre in there fifty to sixty hours a week, he says. Theres a real commitment and pride to come up with a great result.Members of the UA EcoCAR team with their Chevrolet Camaro. Image T he University of AlabamaFord, who did a co-op with BMW for four semesters at BMWs manufacturing plant in South Carolina, with the first three focused on hybrid technology, says this experience taught him almost as much as that time with the German car leader. Its a top opportunity to expand your engineering knowledge but put it into action, he says. To get a chance to adjust the Camaro, thats a big thrill. Redesigning something like this from the ground up, its unique.But can the Camaro come out of this with a chance to be known for being a green car beyond the competition? I definitely think its possible, Ford says. Many people have never experienced driving a hybrid. Because of its battery torque, there is strength in the area of acceleration and that makes it fun. Muscle cars and environmentally friendly design can go flosse in hand.Eric Butterman is an independent writer. For Further Discussion To get a chance to adjust the Camaro, thats a big thrill. Redesigning something like this from the ground up, its unique.Trevor Ford, University of Alabama