SONOMA — Thousands of high school and university students from across North and South America are at Sonoma Raceway this weekend for the Shell Eco-Marathon, competing to build the most mileage efficient vehicles.
A team of Guatemalan engineering students have built a small, aerodynamic vehicle that looks like a bug and gets 1,000 miles per gallon, team members said. A Canadian team built their car with hockey sticks while others built their vehicles from farm equipment.
The models being raced and tested on the raceway are highly imaginative. Others looked like bulbous go-karts while some resembled bobsleds with wheels.
Some teams created cars that are solar powered, others use hydrogen, batteries or plain old gasoline.
Last year's winner was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and could travel 3,600 miles per gallon.
The four-day competition runs through Saturday.