CSU Chosen To Rebuild Chevy Sedan Into Green Car

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- Colorado State University students will re-engineer a Chevrolet Malibu into a hybrid-electric or fuel-cell vehicle in a three-year project sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports CSU is one of 16 universities nationwide chosen for the "EcoCar 2" program. The object is to reduce the car's environmental impact without compromising performance, safety and consumer appeal.

CSU said Monday the students will develop the design in the first year and spend the other two years converting, testing and integrating the design.

At the end of the second and third years, the vehicles will compete in week-long engineering tests, similar to the tests GM conducts to determine whether a prototype is ready for production.

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