Aaron Singer, a graduate student and co-leader of the UC Davis Challenge X team, talks about a new generation of vehicles students are working on at UC Davis. On Jan. 28, area newspaper, TV and print media visited campus to get a first-hand look at some of the award-winning hybrid-electric vehicles built by engineering students. The vehicles include a 2002 Ford Explorer that can go zero to 60 mph in seven seconds while getting up to 30 miles per gallon, and a 1998 Mercury Sable sedan that gets 50 miles per gallon. UC Davis teams compete each year in national Future-Car and FutureTruck competitions, placing first overall in 2001, second in 2002 and third in 2003 at FutureTruck events. In 2004, UC Davis was selected as one of 17 student teams to compete in "Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility," sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors. Challenge X, run over three years, will push students to re-engineer a mid-size SUV for higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions while preserving safety, performance and comfort.