April 23, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO CAPTURES GAGE FUEL ECONOMY AWARD
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The University of Idaho took six special honors, including the Gage Products Award for Best Fuel Economy, during the eighth annual Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Clean Snowmobile Challenge held March 19-24 at Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton, Michigan.
The University of Idaho team received the Gage award at a recent honors banquet in Houghton for recording an average 19.61 miles per gallon (mpg). The Idaho team also earned honors in the competition’s internal combustion division, including—the Polaris Industries Award for Best Handling; an SAE award for Best Design; the Land and Sea Inc. Award for Best Performance; the Emitec Award for Best Value, and the Denso Corporation Award for Best Ride. In addition, the team received the Founders’ Award for Most Sportsmanlike Conduct.
Gage, a leading supplier of test fuels, paint solvents and paint-system recycling programs for the automotive industry, provided specially blended fuel for the event. The company has been a Clean Snowmobile Challenge sponsor for five consecutive years.
The University of Maine took second place in the fuel economy competition at 18.18 mpg, followed by the University of Minnesota-Duluth at 14.27 mpg and Kettering University at 13.51 mpg.
The University of Idaho’s snowmobile was equipped with a two-stroke Ski-Doo engine with a direct fuel-injection system. The vehicle ran on E10, a 10 percent ethanol-gasoline blend.
Held in Michigan since 2002, the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge is hosted by MTU’s mechanical engineering department and the school’s Keweenaw Research Center. Fifteen university teams from the United States and Canada took part in this year’s competition, which is designed to encourage the development of environmentally-friendly snowmobiles.
The 15 teams that participated in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge included two from Clarkston University (Postdam, N.Y.); Kettering University (Flint, Mich.); two from McGill University (Canada); Michigan Technological University (Houghton, Mich.); Minnesota State University (Mankato, Minn.); State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo, N.Y.); South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (Rapid City, S.D.); University of Idaho (Moscow, Idaho); University of Maine (Orono, Maine); University of Minnesota-Duluth (Duluth, Minn.); University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wis.); University of Wisconsin-Platteville (Platteville, Wis.), and Utah State University (Logan, Utah).
“The SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge is a great way to engage students in creating environmentally-friendly vehicles that reduce emissions while increasing fuel economy,” said Robert Jamrog, president of Gage. “We’re proud to recognize the hard work and talent of these students.”
A specialist in the production of test fuels for the automotive industry, Gage has provided its customers with more than 1,000 different test-fuel blends during the past seven years. The company’s custom-fuel customers include Bosch, Visteon, TI Automotive, Inergy Automotive Systems, Eaton Corporation, Detroit Testing Services Group and Delphi.
A global company, Gage is recognized as a pioneer in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent-remanufacturing techniques. Over the past 19 years, Gage’s closed-loop recycling systems have been used by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to safely recycle more than 70-million gallons of waste material. Other automotive customers include Fiat, Honda, Jaguar, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Volvo and Nissan.
Headquartered in Ferndale, Mich., Gage has facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico. The company also manufactures paint-related products and cleaners for a wide variety of industrial uses, as well as calibration and test fuels for use in the auto industry. Visit www.gageproducts.com for more information.
Further details about the 2007 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge may be found at www.sae.org.
Note to Editors: A high-resolution photo of the award ceremony is available upon request.
Company Contact:
Tom Murray
Gage Products Company
Phone: 248-691-6737
Email: tmurray@gageproducts.com
Media Contact:
Jen Howell
AutoCom Associates
Phone: 248.647.8621
E-Mail: jhowell@usautocom.com
Michigan Tech Contact
Jay Meldrum
Michigan Tech University
Phone: 906-487-3178
E-mail: jmeldrum@mtu.edu
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