Cedarville's 'Urbie' debuts at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012

Cedarville University on the track at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012 on Saturday, March 31, in downtown Houston.

It’s the first time this team has competed in the UrbanConcept class. Although the team hasn’t picked an official name for the new vehicle, Cedarville faculty advisor Dr. Lawrence Zavodney has nicknamed the vehicle “Urbie” – short for UrbanConcept. 

Aron Flaming, a senior at Cedarville University, says the vehicle uses a hybrid system. “The vehicle’s electric motor is always running, so the driver only has to start and stop the internal combustion engine one to two times while out on the track.”

In addition to the motor, there are other design elements that make Cedarville University’s UrbanConcept vehicle fuel-efficient. Flaming designed the chassis – the frame that holds everything together – to reduce the amount of drag, which requires additional energy to push the vehicle forward.

“The most exciting thing for me was to see my drawings materialize into a three-dimensional car that we’re putting to the test out on the track,” he says.