Bentonville teens to give car an electric makeover


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BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A team of Bentonville High School students intends to convert a traditional gasoline-powered car to an electric one and enter the vehicle in a competition in the spring.

They already have the car, a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu donated to them last month by a Bentonville dealership. They also have the confidence and much of the knowledge they need to complete the project.

Project leaders Tyler Scifres and Kyle Watson, both seniors, and Steven Douglass, a junior, expect to have the help of about 10 other students involved in the Technical Student Association, a club focused on projects related to science, technology, engineering and math.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (bit.ly/1Od6CS4 ) reports that Tye Killingsworth, a digital electronics teacher at Bentonville High, is serving as the Electric Vehicle Team's adviser.

"I'm trying to stay as hands-off as possible," Killingsworth said. "I'm just here to make sure they're being safe and respectful."

The team's goal is to have the car ready in time for the EV Challenge, to be held in April in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event for high school students includes several kinds of competitions, from an oral presentation to tests of the students' vehicle design and range.

The Bentonville students said they are awaiting official approval from school administrators before actually starting to take apart their car. In the meantime, they have been laying the groundwork for the project since August by researching parts and building techniques and raising money.

"Hopefully as soon as we get back from break, we hit the ground running," Scifres said.

They will strip the car down then build it back up, Watson said. They hope to get the conversion done in two to three months, leaving some time for testing before the competition.

"We'd like to have about a 20-mile range on a single charge," Watson said. "We're allowed a maximum voltage of 120 volts."

The team is still raising money, but it got a big boost when Wal-Mart's Lab 415-C donated $9,000. Lab 415-C is a group of employees who develop new technologies that align with the company's business strategies. Tom Douglass, Steven's father, is a senior manager of Lab 415-C.

Terry Harrison, general manager at Crain Hyundai of Bentonville, said the Electric Vehicle Team asked for his help.

"We gave them a very inexpensive (car) we were going to send to the wholesale auction," Harrison said. "We just thought it was really cool. Any time we can, we're glad to help."

Brown's Collision Center, about a quarter-mile north of the school, agreed to give the team a place to store the car and work on it.

"They're allowing us to use one of their bays and their machinery, all the heavy equipment we'll need," Scifres said. "They were one of the first people on this project."

Brown's Collision Center also provided a trailer and pulled the car in this month's Bentonville Christmas parade. The parade "definitely got our name out there," Douglass said.

Paul Stolt, the School District's director of communications, and Jeff Amerine, founding principal of Startup Junkie Consulting, also have been very helpful to the group, Scifres said.

Each of the three team leaders has an interest in some kind of engineering: Scifres in electrical, Douglass in aerospace, and Watson in mechanical.

"It will be fun to see how each person in the group approaches the project," Scifres said.

The project will give students valuable experience considering the role alternative energies will play in the future, Watson said.

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Information from: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.nwaonline.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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