Gage is Official Snowmobile Challenge Sponsor

DETROIT, March 17 -- Gage Products Company has been named official fuel sponsor for the fourth annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge this coming week in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Fourteen student teams from universities in the U.S. and Canada will compete in the five-day event (March 19 to 23, 2003) with snowmobiles modified to reduce noise and emission levels. Michigan Technological University in Houghton is hosting the competition.

A leading global supplier of test fuels, paint solvents and paint-system recycling programs for the automotive industry, Detroit-based Gage Products Company will provide specially blended fuel for the event.

"Gage has an important role in this year's competition," said Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center, a lead organizer of the program. "By donating specially blended fuels and measuring the fuel economy of each snowmobile, Gage helps to assure an even playing field for every competitor."

Meldrum noted that this is the first year that the competition has taken place in Michigan. As in past years, student-modified snowmobiles will compete in a variety of events designed to measure emissions, noise, fuel economy, acceleration, handling and braking. Prior to this year the competition was held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Meldrum noted that the overall intent of the competition is to develop snowmobiles that are acceptable for use in environmentally sensitive areas. Snowmobiles entered in the program are expected to be quiet and emit significantly less unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide than conventional snowmobiles.

Technical inspections and team check-ins take place on Wednesday, March 19. The competition begins with an endurance and fuel-economy event on Thursday, followed by noise, acceleration, braking and emissions events on Friday. Cold start and handling events are scheduled on Saturday morning, followed by a "Winter Baja" competition in the afternoon. Snowmobiles entered in the program will be on public display at Michigan Tech from 8 a.m. until 12 noon on Sunday.

Teams registered for the program include entries from Colorado State University, Idaho State University, Kettering University, McGill University, Michigan Technological University, Minnesota State University - Mankato, University of Idaho, University of Maine, University of Wisconsin - Madison, University of Wisconsin - Platteville and the University of Wyoming.

The team with the most fuel-efficient snowmobile at the 2003 event will receive the Gage Fuel Products Best Fuel Economy Award at an awards banquet in Houghton on Saturday, March 22. Donald R. Dixon, a Michigan Technological University graduate and president of Gage Products, will present the award.

"As a company dedicated to improving the environment, Gage is especially pleased to be part of a program that not only encourages the development of student engineers, but also contributes to a better environment," Dixon said. "A major goal of the Clean Snowmobile Challenge is to develop snowmobiles that are acceptable for use in environmentally sensitive areas."

A specialist in the production of test fuels for the automotive industry, Gage has provided its customers with more than 1,000 different test-fuel blends over the past five years. Gage's custom-fuel customers include Bosch, Visteon, TI Automotive, Inergy Automotive Systems, Eaton Corporation, Detroit Testing Services Group and Stant Manufacturing.

Headquartered in Ferndale, MI, Gage has facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil and Mexico. A leader in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent remanufacturing programs, its paint- system solvent-recovery processes are used in a majority of North America's automotive assembly plants and have attracted the attention of European and Asia-Pacific manufacturers as well.

Additional information about Gage is available on the Internet at www.gageproducts.com . Further details about the 2003 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge may be found at www.mtu.edu .