Chevy Blazer Tapped for Next EcoCar Challenge

Student teams from 12 universities will modify a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer crossover vehicle in the next EcoCar Challenge.

In addition to maximizing fuel efficiency, the advanced technology competition will target car-sharing applications. The four-year program, which concludes in the summer of 2022, is sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, General Motors and MathWorks. The DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory will manage the program.

This year’s participating universities are:

• Colorado State University
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Georgia Tech
• McMaster University
• Mississippi State University
• The Ohio State University
• University of Alabama
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• University of Washington
• University of Waterloo
• Virginia Tech
• West Virginia University

The teams will apply advanced propulsion systems, electrification, SAE Level 2 automation and vehicle connectivity to the Blazer. The competition demands that the revised vehicle is at least equal the base model’s safety, utility, performance and consumer acceptability.

MathWorks will provide its Matlab and Simulink design and simulation tools to the teams. Other contributing sponsors include American Axle, Bosch, California Air Resources Board, Delphi, Denso, dSpace, Horiba, Intel, National Science Foundation, NXP Semiconductors, PACCAR, Proterra, Siemens PLM, Tesa Tape, Vector and the Electric Power Research Institute.

Ohio State won all four years of the EcoCar 3 Challenge, which used a Chevrolet Camaro.