West Philly Fuel Economy Entrant Unplugged

Local High School team just misses automotive glory

Electricity is defined as the flow of electrons. A hitch in that flow is precisely what cost the West Philly Hybrid X Team in its bid for automotive glory.

On Friday, the team of students, teachers, and volunteers from West Philadelphia High School 's Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering and its prototype Ford Focus were knocked out of the $10 million Progressive insurance Automotive X Prize at Michigan International Speedway. The competition's goal is fuel economy. The challenge is building a car that can top 100 miles per gallon and pass a battery of tests. The two-year-long contest involves 100 original entries, most of whom washed out of the design phase last year.

Specifically, it was the battery under the hood of that Ford that came into focus for the West Philly group. Team spokesperson Ann Cohen said a problem transferring power into the battery helped to short-circuit the team's hopes.

"It was an emotional day for us," Cohen lamented about the energy drain. "But, we learned a great deal."

What the innovative West Philly group learned is that you lose fuel efficiency if you don't retain every atom of power. She said that during a refueling break in Friday's knockout round, not all of the electrical stream was absorbed by the battery cells. Cohen likened the problem to a driver filling up his car, but letting some gasoline spill onto the ground. The tank is still full, but the total energy you were counting on goes down the proverbial drain.

The X Prize winner will be named tomorrow. 

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