This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.

May 22, 2013

EcoCAR 2 Teams Cruise Forward with Second Year Finals

During the week of May 13, all 15 EcoCAR 2 teams arrived in Yuma, Arizona, jump-starting the EcoCAR 2 Year Two finals. During the week of May 20, they’ll be competing for the top prize in the two-part competition, which consists of on-road vehicle testing at the General Motors Desert Proving Grounds in Yuma and presentations in San Diego, California.

EcoCAR 2: Plugging into the Future is a three-year collegiate engineering competition that challenges 15 student teams from across North America to develop highly efficient vehicles using technologies that can save consumers money at the pump and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Student teams use a variety of powertrain architectures—with a focus on electric drive technology—to improve vehicle efficiency and retain consumer acceptability, performance and safety. The competition is sponsored by the Energy Department and General Motors—as well as Natural Resources Canada and 25 other industry sponsors who make this competition possible. For the complete story, see the Energy Blog.