The North American International Auto Show opened today, and as you might expect, they are some very impressive cars. Big names like Ford, Nissan and Mercedes are revealing their newest creations, but there are some other, lower-profile vehicles worth noting as well. And the teams behind those may very well be the future of the auto show.
Two cars, which come courtesy of Michigan State University (MSU), are there because of student engineers with more passion than pocket change. The cars they brought didn’t have the resources of a major, international automotive corporation, but that didn’t stop them from innovating.
As described in an MSU news article, the two vehicles represent rather opposite ends of the automotive spectrum. The first car, known as Leonidas, is a solar-powered vehicle sponsored by Saturn Electronics, one of the world’s top solar technology manufacturers. The second, called SR14, is a Formula SAE car. The cars come from teams comprised of a mix of undergrads and graduate students from the School of Engineering, and will be joined by cars from several other Michigan universities.
The MSU Solar Team represents a diverse set of skills, and the team competes in the American Solar Challenge. The American Solar Challenge is a race over 1,000+ miles of public roads. In 2014 the race took place from Austin, TX to Minneapolis, MN; more than 1700 miles. Before embarking for the long haul, teams must undergo stringent safety inspections and perform well enough in the Formula Sun Grand Prix.
The Formula Racing Team designs and races a gas-powered open-wheel car in the Society of Automotive Engineers competition. The competition, considered the largest engineering competition in the world, assesses multiple aspects of performance, design and marketing. It so happens that Michigan is home to the largest of nine events put on by Formula SAE. The competition draws teams from all over the world.
And so it all comes back to Michigan. It is a great place to design, race and show off your cars. MSU’s engineering students are a testament to it.
Images: MSU Solar and Formula SAE