I'm finally getting to refocus on the Suburban after many months on other
things. . . and it feels great.
Just got back from the GM Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa, AZ, where I was
helping the University of Tennessee field a year 2000 hybrid-electric
Suburban in university competition (1 of 15). All of the big three are
seriously working on EV and HEV setups (only HEV makes sense for trucks) to
improve mileage and reduce emissions, and the univ competition is just one
way to spur interest; not sure what the practical end will be. Started out
well in the competition but in the end UT broke some custom sensors on the
electric motor and couldn't get it fixed in time. I got hooked into this as
part of a mech engr class in applied control systems for my PhD (which I'm
about to decide I'm too old to be working on).
The new Suburbans are more of a soccer mom vehicle; don't like them at all.
I feel much more comfortable with my old Sub. . .a real guy's truck.
Saw lots of strange GM stuff out there on the test track unrelated to our
competition; guess we'll see them in the next year or two on the road. Also
got to take a complete tour of the test track including high speed oval and
all the peripheral test roads, paved and dirt; it was a blast.
Hopefully I'll make some real reportable progress on the Sub this summer.
Other than picking up some NOS rear quarter panels and a nice tailgate
section, I really haven't done much of anything on the Sub lately.
Mark Noakes
58/56 Suburban
Knoxville, TN
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