University of Idaho Receives Gage Fuel Economy Award

HOUGHTON, Mich.--The University of Idaho in Moscow was the winner of the Gage Products Company Award for Best Fuel Economy in the 10th annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, held recently at Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton.

The University of Idaho’s snowmobile recorded an average of 13.43 miles per gallon (mpg) during the fuel-economy portion of the competition. Clarkston University in Postdam, N.Y., took second place in the fuel economy competition at 12.89 mpg, followed by the University of Wisconsin – Madison at 11.47 mpg, Michigan Tech University at 11.37 mpg and the University of Maine at 10.24 mpg.

Gage, a leading supplier of test fuels, paint solvents and paint-system recycling programs for the automotive industry, provided specially-blended fuel for the event. The company has been a Clean Snowmobile Challenge sponsor for seven consecutive years.

“The SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge is a great way for college students to apply their classroom knowledge to real-life challenges facing the global auto industry,” said Dan Finkiewicz, president and chairman of Gage Products Company. “Gage is proud to recognize student efforts to improve fuel efficiency, as well as promote environmental awareness and the use of alternative fuels.”

The University of Idaho’s snowmobile was equipped with a 600 H.O. SDI two-stroke Ski-Doo engine modified to run on flex-fuel. The vehicle ran on E55, a blend of ethanol and premium gasoline.

Held in Michigan since 2002, the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge is hosted by MTU’s mechanical engineering department and the school’s Keweenaw Research Center. Eighteen university teams from the United States and Canada took part in this year’s competition, which is designed to encourage the development of environmentally-friendly snowmobiles.

The teams that participated in the 2009 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge included: Clarkston University, Postdam, N.Y.; Ècole De Technologie Superieure, Montreal, Quebec; Kettering University, Flint, Mich.; McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.; North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D.; Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill.; State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y.; South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, S.D.; University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska; University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho; University of Maine, Orono, Maine; University of Minnesota-Duluth, Duluth, Minn.; University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis., and University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville, Wisconsin.

Gage's Test Fuel Division maintains an inventory of more than 250 custom-blended gasoline fuels for use in automotive test programs, including SAE fuels, ASTM fuels and OE-specific fuels. Gage Products also offers more than 25 different calibration fluids needed to meet testing requirements for a variety of automotive products, including oil and fuel pumps, fuel injectors and transmissions.

Gage has provided its customers with more than 1,000 different blends of gasoline for automotive-test uses over the last five years. These fuels not only represent regional fuel configurations from North America, Europe, South America and the Asia/Pacific region, they also include gasoline alternatives, such as ethanol and gasoline with additives like MTBE.

The company recently completed a multi-million dollar capital expansion project to enhance its test fuel production and assurance capabilities.

Headquartered in Ferndale, Mich., Gage Products Company is a leading supplier of closed-loop, paint-system recycling programs. Over the past 20 years, Gage’s closed-loop recycling systems have been used by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to safely recycle more than 70-million gallons of waste material. Gage also manufactures paint-related products and cleaners for a wide variety of industrial uses for the auto industry. Visit www.gageproducts.com for more information.

Further details about the 2009 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge may be found at http://students.sae.org/competitions/snowmobile/ or http://www.mtukrc.org/snowmobile.htm.

Note to Editors: High-resolution photos of the 2009 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge are available upon request.