In 2005, the University of Michigan took first prize in the American Solar Challenge. In second of the 17 entrants was the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a biodiesel electric hybrid.

In 2006, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) at Virginia Tech took first prize in the new Challenge X (cX) with their GM Equinox hybrid SUV (heh, GM was a sponsor), cruising on E85 and two battery powered electric motors.

As the event is described on the VT site:

General Motors Corporation (GM), DOE, and other government and industry leaders have developed a new competition called Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility. This ground-breaking, three-year competition will give engineering schools an opportunity to participate in hands-on research and development with leading-edge automotive propulsion, fuels, materials, and emissions-control technologies. ? The goal of the competition is to achieve better fuel economy and lower emissions while maintaining the safety, performance, utility, and consumer appeal of a Chevrolet Equinox.

I wonder if it would make a difference in the race to reducing dependency on fossil fuels if the USA offered incentives to auto companies along the lines of getting a certain minimum number of electric and green hybrid automobiles into the hands of car owners and out on the US roads that meeting certain performance characteristics. And I’m not thinking every company should receive the incentive, only the one who wins the race. And perhaps a smaller reward for second place, I’m still thinking about that one. In this sort of competition there would not only be an incentive to get the cars manufactured but also sold, car buyers would need to believe in the product. Such a competition has got to be better than establishing low standards. Hell, Web 2.0 is making media and communications more economic for consumers, perhaps the tax payers need a new Treasury 2.0 type of creativity to move the ball down the pitch. Heh, maybe GM will dust off the EV1 plans and have a good head start.