“The Build Your Dream
Vehicle program exposes high school students to career
opportunities in the automotive industry and provides
opportunities for them to enhance their professional
skills. Students are challenged to create, design, and
present a futuristic, environmentally friendly concept
vehicle—complete with a three-dimensional model and/or
drawings.”
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
When:
May 21-23, 2006
Who:[participants come from high
schools all over the nation, approx. 250 schools]
Presenters @ Pontiac & Department Giselle Obregón [Team
Process]
Kari Wong [Ergonomics, Safety, Environment] David Tseng
[Engineering, Design] Helena Xu [Marketing] Christopher
Liu [Finance]
Team Members
Ann Chong Chris Chang Desiree Magat Evan
Kwan Eric Huang
Advisors Robert Franz Ed
Richter Lorraine Griego Mitch Kodama
Team Location:
Hacienda Heights, CA
Competition Location: Pontiac, Michigan
National Champions -
2 years in a row 1st Place: US $6,000.00 WOW
Design: US $1,000.00
Total Award Money: US $7,000.00
At the Los Altos Academy of
Engineering, students have single-handedly built their own dream
vehicle, the Di400.
Under the title of Dynamic Innovations, high school students
collaborated to create a car to submit to the annual Build Your
Dream Vehicle competition. The Dynamic Innovations team,
composed of Giselle Obregon, Chris Liu, Helena Xu, Kari Wong,
David Tseng, Chris Chang, Ann Chong, Desiree Magat, Evan Kwan,
and Eric Huang have banded together to form departments that
cover design, marketing, environment, safety, ergonomics,
finance, team process, and engineering.
For
this competition, these young adults simulate every aspect
involved in the debut of a concept vehicle new car. The case
study for the 2006 competition was to create an environmentally
friendly vehicle that is fuel-efficient, has to average no lower
than 50 mpg, no heavier than 3,000 pounds, and be at least 50%
recyclable. Targeting the problem of mileage and fuel
efficiency, the Dynamic Innovations team has decided to release
a hybrid diesel vehicle that will achieve approximately 59.17
mpg. Additionally, the team planned to release a high
performance car that will have an astounding 0-60 mph time of
5.8 seconds, yet maintaining a the comfort of luxury and
security by incorporating innovative engineering concepts. With
the report and video, the team entered a winning model of the
vehicle and posters representing the aerodynamic features of the
vehicle, color schemes, and ergonomics features.
Dynamic Innovations marketed
the
Di400
to baby boomers between the ages of 45-60 years old. With this,
the team constructed advertisement strategies, engineering
methods, detailed price breakdowns, and all other aspects of
creating a vehicle as a real-life car company. The Di400 is set
to debut in 2010 with the guiding slogan “dream it, desire it,
you deserve it.”
The first requirement of the
competition was to create a report consisting of each
department’s goals and designs of the vehicle, and then the 20
teams that advanced from the 250 schools that participated in
the initial report stage entered a 30 minute video. Of the 20
teams that advanced, 8 teams were chosen to present a 25 minute
presentation to a panel of judges consisting of engineers from
GM, Chrysler, Nissan, and a marketing executive from Candor
Marketing. Presenters Giselle Obregon, Helena Xu, Kari Wong,
Chris Liu, and David Tseng, all seniors at Los Altos High
School, represented their school and engineering academy in
Pontiac, Michigan on May 21-23. These five students worked at
their High School’s Engineering Program and after school to
create their final product, the Di400. Dynamic Innovations from Los
Altos High School was the only team from California to advance
to the Finals Competition, representing the West Coast region.
Dynamic Innovations placed 1st at
the National competition [$6,000] and received the WOW Award for
Best Design [$1,000]. This is the second time Los Altos has
placed 1st nationally in their ten year involvement with the
first time being last year. Dynamic Innovations is proud to
announce that they are back to back National Champions. The
“Build Your Dream Vehicle” Competition was first introduced in
1994 when Daimler-Chrysler wanted to give high-school students
an opportunity to experience and benefit from the real-world
lessons in the fields of engineering, business, and marketing.
This competition has opened the eyes of students to possible
career paths and exposed promising young designers and engineers
to the automotive industry.
“The program’s
integrated curriculum helps students polish work skills
such as the application of science, technology and
design; time management; creativity; teamwork; oral
presentations; and development of marketing strategies
and financial statements. The program also teaches
students that even the best idea requires collaboration
and an effective business plan in order to compete in
today’s marketplace.”
VividNET