High Mileage Vehicle Philosophy

The U.S. currently uses 15-19 million barrels of oil each day. Fifty percent of this oil is used on transportation systems and devices. In an effort to increase public awareness in the field of fuel economy and student involvement, a fuel economy competition will be held. Your task is to reasearch,design, and develop a single person, fuel efficent vehicle powered by a single cylinder four-stroke engine. To complete this task the team must research the concepts of vehicles and their power train systems. The design team must also develop a familiarity with aerodynamics, drag, and friction, because these also play vital roles in fuel economy. To help you with the development of your vehicle there are design rules and guidelines that must be followed.

There are two aspects of the competition that will be judged. In order to participate in the competition each school must complete both. They are as follows:

1.Each design team (school) is required to develop a Vehicle Proposal Packet.

2.Each design team (school) is required to develop a High Mileage Vehicle.

Goals of the High Mileage Vehicle Competition

To involve students in a research and design team that develops a solution to a proposed problem.

To povide students with a problem that they can solve using their knowledge, experience, and available resources.

(This is my personal favorite)To provide students with an activity that involves fund raising and the PUBLIC RELATIONS necessary to collect materials and sponsors from the community.

To enhance the problem solving skills of students.

To provide students with an activity that requires the technical writing skills of real world R&D.

Provides students with a problem that channels their creative energies.

This is a problem any student can solve, not just those with higher achievement scores.

Students have the opportunity to develope a full scale working solution to the problem.

To provide students with a fun and exciting experience where they can express their individual knowledge and creative ideas.

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