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The purpose of this article is to address the technological innovation brought by the Michigan Solar Car team to the auto industry. This project was successfully tackled by a small group of one hundred Michigan's brightest students and their 300 sponsors.

Recently, I went to the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. It was awesome! So much glamour and so many vehicles to choose from. But, in this article I am not going to talk about the automakers and their vehicles... I will be discussing about one vehicle that was pioneered twenty years ago and had a tremendous response in support from its sponsors and its students from University of Michigan. Yes, it's about the UM school's tenth generation of its solar car named "Infinium". What a remarkable solar vehicle! Its team mission succeeded. The UM Solar Car team won several racing awards in two competitions, national and international.

One of the young team members, a sophomore student told me how proud he was about the entire team accomplishments, a wide array of leading edge technologies and many team innovations.

Solar car racing at Michigan celebrated its 20th year of existence. What an accomplishment!

The solar car team won most of the North American Championship, five out of nine times. At the World Championship contest finished 3rd, three times. That's a great performance.

It all started twenty years ago when a group of Michigan passionate students won the GM Sunrayce. The Sunrunner 1990 solar car took the first place GM Sunrayce and 3rd place World Solar challenge.

The advances in battery technologies used in the solar vehicle had helped the breakthrough in the hybrids. Its carbon fiber composite body shared similar usage on Grand Prix race cars and commercial aircrafts.

Regenerative braking systems had been used since 1989 and implemented in hybrid vehicles since.

Advances in solar cells and collector systems were commonly used in large solar power plants.

The main components of the Michigan solar car were:

o carbon fiber composite body and chassis

o electric motor

o custom build suspension

o solar cells

o low friction wheels

o solar collector (concentrator) system

For car enthusiasts the Continuum 2007 solar car specifications are listed below:

weight (w/o driver) - 475 lbs (215 kg)

size - 16.4 ft x 5.9 ft (5 m x 1.8 m

top speed - 87 mph (140 kmh)

max torque - 37 lb-ft (50.2 N-m)

nominal power output - 2.5 hp

max. power output - 12.3 hp

max. array output - 1900 watt

fuel type - sun

batteries - 30 kg (lithium polymer)

fuel economy - infinite

A few words about the solar vehicle races.

The World Solar Challenge was founded by Hans Tholstrup in 1987. It takes place in Australia and starts in the North of Australia at Darwin and ends up in the South in Adelaide, about 1800 miles race. Race results: 3 third place finishes. The North American Solar Challenge race was founded by GM in 1989. Its length from start to finish is 2500 miles. The race itinerary starts in Dallas, Texas and ends in Calgary, Alberta. Race results: 5 National Championships.

Michigan Solar Car Team organization is comprised of 4 units: engineering, business, operations and strategy. UM Solar Car team budget expenses of $2,600,000 included the cost of: vehicle, strategy, business, operational and logistics.

Among the most known UM Solar Car sponsors are: GM, Ford, Dana, Denso, Shell, Roush, Alcoa, SKF Group, Detroit Auto Dealers Association, Molex, Tel-X Corporation, Vector Group, A123 systems, Delta, AT&T, Motorola, Bowne, Cytec, Michelin, 3M, Kaiser Aluminum, Visteon, ArvinMeritor, and many more.

Media companies that covered the solar car team are: ABC, Boston Globe, CBS, CNN, Discovery Channel, ESPN, New York Times, MSNBC, Popular Mechanics, USA Today.

UM Solar Car team is continuously seeking sponsors and donations. As part of the non-profit University of Michigan, the Solar Car Team is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are eligible for tax exemptions, whether cash and in-kind donations of materials and select services.

UM Solar Car Donors and Sponsorship Levels are listed below:

1. Platinum ($100,000 or more, at least $25,000 cash)

2. Gold ($25,000 to $99,999, at least $5,000 cash)

3. Silver ($10,000 to $24,999)

4. Bronze ($2,500 to $9,999)

5. Crew (under $2,500)

UM Solar Car team is a legacy of excellence. List of past Michigan Solar Cars Names, Model Year and Awards won:

o Sunrunner 1990, 1st place GM Sunrayce, 3rd place World Solar Challenge,

o Maize & Blue 1993, 1st place GM Sunrayce,

o Solar Vision 1995,

o Wolverine 1997,

o Maize Blaze 1999,

o M-Pulse 2001, 1st place American Solar Challenge, 3rd place World Solar Challenge,

o Spectrum 2003,

o Momentum 2005, 1st place American Solar Challenge, 3rd place World Solar Challenge,

o Continuum 2007, 1st place American Solar Challenge,

o Infinium 2009,

UM Solar Car team is a perfect example of green technology put to work. The solar car is a shining proof in promoting alternative energy sources and developing advanced technologies. It enables the solar team to expand our public outreach.

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit unveiled the potential and capabilities of solar, electric and hybrid vehicles to a diverse audience. The future looks bright! For more info visit: http://www.umsolar.com.

http://www.autosqueal.com is a website where the authors promote the Big3 automakers. Our core of believes are listed below:
1. Improve public image about our domestic automakers. After all, all are using similar components and the same OEM supplier's base.
2. Address the need for corporate culture change, sadly experienced by the BIG 3 automakers.
3. Lessen the office politics' playground which is still crippling the management decision making and the employees' morale.
4. Engage the "media buzz" and convince it to take interest in the automakers' positive efforts to improve their customer perception.
5. Voice our site opinions to create public support and confidence in the local auto manufacturers and suppliers.
6. Spark a communication channel around this website and get feedback using blogs, posts, image or video.
7. Post articles to convince our politicians at the local and federal level to address the unfair global free trade policies and the foreign strict regulations of Japan, China, and others.

Volvo Introduces Five-fuel Car

Car manufacturers believe that a single alternative fuel cannot wipe away the dependency of the global community on petroleum products. Volvo Cars is one of the many carmakers adhering to this philosophy. The company has even developed a vehicle that not only runs on one or two alternative fuel but five alternative fuels.

A prototype of this car was recently unveiled by the Swedish car manufacturer. Called the Volvo Multi-Fuel, the vehicle is capable of running on hythane, a combination of hydrogen and methane; biomethane; compressed natural gas or CNG; bioethanol E85; and conventional gasoline. Switching between these fuels can be achieved by simply pushing a button.

The engine of the prototype is a five-cylinder 2.0-liter engine which is capable of producing 200 horsepower. It was first unveiled as a concept at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum 2006. The prototype though was just unveiled more recently.

“The whole car is optimized for high performance, driving on any of the five different fuels,” says Mats Moren, the Project Leader Engine at Volvo Car Corporation. And since the vehicle is a Volvo, it is loaded with safety features. Its wide choice of alternative fuel also makes the vehicle more environment-friendly. This will allow consumers to choose which fuel will be more practical to use on the vehicle if Volvo lowers the cost of production enough for the vehicle to be mass produced and be made available to the public and the market. “It is a first step towards a hydrogen powered society. Perhaps we can develop the system even further, to run on a higher blend in the future,” says Moren.

The vehicle is equipped with four tanks to hold the different fuels. One large and two smaller tanks hold the gaseous fuels which are the hythane, biomethane, and CNG. The three tanks have a total volume of 98 liters. Another tank holds the liquid fuels which are the E85 and the conventional gasoline. “The small gaseous fuel tanks are made of steel, whereas the large tank has a durable, gas tight aluminum liner, reinforced with high performance carbon fiber composite and an exterior layer of hardened fiber-glass composite,” says Moren.

Apart from the necessary changes made to the vehicle’s construction regarding the storage of the different fuels, the design of the engine is similar to a conventional gasoline engine. Volvo spark plug wires and other similar components can be already found under the hood of the prototype.

The tanks used by the vehicle are placed under the luggage compartment floor which means that it does not reduce the loading capacity of the vehicle. Since there are gaseous and liquid fuels available for the engine, there are also two fuel fillers available - one for gaseous fuels and one for the E85 and gasoline.

“The Multi-Fuel is turbo charged to achieve high performance on any of the five different fuel types. That makes it great fun to drive and we are very proud of its performance,” says Moren of the vehicle. In conclusion, he added that: “I love this concept, a turbo charged engine with high performance, low fuel consumption and low emissions. On top of that it has a brilliant tank installation and can be run on a multitude of fuels – all wrapped in one beautiful car.”

About the Author

Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit, Mi. she is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field

Think I have a shot at a car show???

All mods.
Fujita Short Ram Intake.
Greddy Exhaust, Dual Tip.
Greddys Headers.
Skunk2 Short Shifter.
Holly Intingtion.
NKGS Spark plugs.
Carbon Fiber Type R Spoiler.
Euro Style Tail Lights.
Painted Black Strips.
New Sounds System
1200 Watt Amplifer, 2 14 Inch Sub's
Kenwood Musicplayer
Ipod/Ichagre connecter
Tinted Windows.
Yokamama Perfomance Race Tires.

and some pics.
http://i34.tinypic.com/2qwnbdv.jpg
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=i1dy55&s=4
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=15x70up&s=4

i would love some feedback to!@

Looks like any other car in the ghetto

Fleets of electric cars arriving soon
Europe and America are swapping electric cars and doing it with a strong sense of style.

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