by Stacie Aliff

Despite a few bumps in the road, members of the EcoCAR Team are feeling very confident about their progress with the car. On Thursday, February 24, the team was working hard in the EcoCAR Lab to get the car ready for the competition’s upcoming “checkpoint” in Ann Arbor, Michigan later this month. At this point, the car is nearing completion but still has a lot of detail work that must be done.

This detail work is one of the hardest things to complete, according to senior team member Joe Marconi. Although Marconi just became a team member in January, he is already aware of all the hard work and patience that has gone and will go into this competition.

“The hardest part for me so far has been learning all the rules and safety regulations and making sure what I’m doing follows those guidelines,” Marconi said.

In addition to all the mechanical work, the team is also working on making sure the car is suitable on the inside as well. Along with Marconi, other members of the team were cutting and gluing pieces of carpet to cover up the various metal parts in the car, such as the battery cover.

Although the team splits up into smaller groups to get things done, the members agreed that everybody is really good about working together when things need to get done.

“We do split up so we can get more work done, but when it comes down to it we all work together really well,” Marconi explained. “It’s been a great experience so far and I’m excited to see our finished product.”