Times Missed the Story in Solar Car Race Report

Re “9 Days in Sun for Solar Cars,” July 26:

What an opportunity you had to tell us an adventure story. What a disappointing story this was. You took all of the air out of the story by missing the color, excitement, engineering skills and local interest that were right there waiting to be told. We learned from [reporter Tipton] Blish that the University of Michigan and University of Missouri-Rolla came in first and second.

OK, but what about the other 26 entrants?

Couldn’t you have told us that among the top 10 were student-built solar cars from Kansas State University, the University of Minnesota and Principia College--a 500-student liberal arts college from Illinois (with no engineering program)--that finished ahead of MIT and two cars from Stanford?

Couldn’t you have given us some local pieces of interest? That, for example, one of the Principia drivers was Chad Reid, whose family lives in Huntington Beach?

Or that in the midst of all those high-powered college students was a car from Los Altos High School/La Puenta Valley ROP? How did they do?

My family and I were so hoping The Times would absorb the essence of the race (nine days following the sun along Route 66), the feel of the cars (seeing them slip silently along a highway at 60-plus mph is like watching a Stealth plane swoosh over the Rose Bowl), the adventure of driving by day and keeping watch over their cars from sleeping bags at night.

What an opportunity you had to tell us an adventure story. What an opportunity we all missed!

Mary K. Frutig

Costa Mesa