POMONA : Cal Poly Takes 2nd in Car Design Contest

Students from Cal Poly Pomona have won second place in a national competition to build hybrid electric cars from scratch.

The mechanical engineering students beat 40 schools competing in the competition, a cooperative venture by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Saturn Corp. and Natural Resources, Canada.

The competition, called the 1994 Hybrid Electric Vehicle Challenge, was held June 14-20 in Southfield, Mich. A team from UC Davis finished first. Cars were judged on quality, safety, design, emissions and performance in rush-hour traffic and in a 100-mile race.

Hybrid electric vehicles, which use both electricity and traditional fuels, represent a technology that could reduce reliance on fossil fuels and imported petroleum.