The 43 teams and their locations. Click to enlarge.

Teams that have passed this most recent phase of judging proved to the competition’s automotive and technical experts that their vehicles will be available in time for formal vehicle challenges next spring, will be production-capable, and can plausibly meet or exceed the competition requirements. There are a total of 53 vehicles moving forward in the competition with 28 represented in the Mainstream Class and 25 represented in the Alternative Class.

The competition features teams from around the world that can design, build and bring to market 100 MPG or energy equivalent (MPGe) vehicles that people want to buy and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance. Performance testing will begin in spring 2010 and winners will be announced in September 2010. Exact dates and locations will be announced shortly.

A complete list of qualified teams, along with fuel types, photos of their vehicles and team information is now available at www.progressiveautoxprize.org/teams.

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE also formally opened registration for a national high school contest, funded by a US Department of Energy grant. The contest, called DASH+, challenges students to work together using creativity, design, and math and science skills to develop new gauges, instruments and interfaces to create the “Dashboard of the Future” which will support behavior change to help drivers maximize fuel efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

Each team will experience a unique, hands-on opportunity as they design their dashboard which will be accompanied by a written technical plan and a design video pitch to convince both auto manufacturers and the general public to adopt and embrace their new concepts, experiences and tools to better understand energy use in vehicles.

DASH+ teams must include two to five US students enrolled in 9^th through 12^th grade, aged 14 or older, in fall 2009 and have an adult mentor. Registration is now available online at www.FuelOurFutureNow.com/contest.