The countdown came over an amplified telephone hookup beamed from Cleveland. "One minute before race time, gentlemen," said the starter. In Pasadena, Calif., the three-man team starting from California Institute of Technology climbed into their red-and-white Volkswagen bus, which sported a sign reading "Socket-to-me." Across the continent, in Cambridge, Mass., a two-man competing team slipped into their modified white Corvair. Said the starter: "Get ready to throw your switches." Then, with a hum rather than the usual roar, the Great Electric-Car Race was off.
The idea for the race came from Caltech Physics Graduate Wally Rippel, 23, whose experiences with Los Angeles' eye-smarting smog had inspired him to create a fumeless electric car two years ago. When he heard that students at M.I.T. were developing a similar electric model—as are several auto companies, including Ford, General Motors and American Motors—he challenged them to a transcontinental race. The aim of the operation: to stimulate interest in non-air-pollutant electrics.
Popping Fuses. The ground rules called for the two cars, heading in opposite directions, to follow the same route, which would have a total of 53 stations where their batteries could be recharged. The floor of Caltech's minibus was covered with 20 lead-cobalt batteries, on top of which were pads where off-duty drivers slept. M.I.T.'s team borrowed a set of $20,000 nickel-cadmium batteries. Characteristically, the engineers used linear equations to work out a handicap system.
Neither team had easy going. On the second day out, as Caltech's Rippel approached Seligman, Ariz., he downshifted at 40 m.p.h. and heard a sickening crunch. Twenty-three hours passed before a new engine could be flown in from Michigan by sponsoring Electric Fuel Propulsion Inc. At Amarillo, Texas, an electronic nightmare of popping fuses and exploding diodes cost another four hours plus some added penalties for replacements.
The faster M.I.T. car, which could make up to 60 m.p.h. between chargings, v. 55 miles for Caltech, had even more troubles. About 950 miles from the starting line, the car simply died. It took nearly a day to revive it. On the road, 200 Ibs. of ice had to be carried to cool the battery. Says M.I.T.'s Jim Martin: "It was like driving an iceberg." Then, at Victorville, Calif., the car's engine idled at twice its normal r.p.m.s, blew up on its block, and had to be towed 130 miles to the Pasadena finish line. It got there a full 37 hours before Caltech's Volkswagen bus limped into Cambridge. But the Caltech team had made the trip with fewer penalties. As a result, the adjusted finishing time was 210 hours and 3 minutes for Cal tech, 210 hours and 30 minutes for M.I.T. An ordinary auto spouting its noxious fumes, of course, would have made the trip in at least half the time.