For Release June 2, 2006

Challenge X Second Year Competition Kicks off at GM Desert Proving Ground

Seventeen university teams arrived at the GM Desert Proving Grounds last week to participate in a number of activities related to the student engineering competition, Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility. The competition kicked off Friday, June 2 and will conclude with an awards ceremony on Thursday, June 8, followed by a media event.

Seventeen university teams from across North America the opportunity to follow the GM global vehicle development process and develop advanced propulsion technology solutions that will increase energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact. The student teams are each re-engineering a Chevy Equinox with their technology solutions.

By participating in the Challenge X program, the students are gaining real-world engineering skills and hands-on learning that will lay the foundation for them to embark on a career in engineering with a competitive advantage.

Year one focused on vehicle simulation and modeling and subsystem development and testing, introducing the students to the engineering trade-offs that occur in the early stages of vehicle design. In years two and three, students are integrating their advanced powertrains and subsystems into the Chevrolet Equinox. Competitions are held at the end of the 2006 and 2007 academic years to showcase the teams’ learning and vehicle development from year to year.

The U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors are the headline sponsors of Challenge X, and are joined by more than 30 additional corporate sponsors.

Several GM and DOE executives will be on hand at the competition to recognize the student's efforts including

Ken Morris, Executive Director of Vehicle Performance, GM North America
Robert Kruse, Executive Director, GM North American Engineering
Dan Hancock, Vice President of Engineering Operations, General Motors Powertrain
Ed Wall, Program Manager, FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy