There was no mistaking it for the Cannonball Run.
For one thing, there were no lead-footed bandits behind the wheels of gas-guzzling muscle cars. And the stream of racers didn't roar into and out of town in a cloud of dust and smoke.No, in the Geo Metro EconoRun, the drivers are a cadre of college students who aspire to more feather-footed feats. They prefer to roll into towns quietly, gently, conserving every drop of fuel.
That's because in the EconoRun, winning is measured not by how fast one crosses the country, but by how much fuel is burned in the process. Anyone getting less than 50 miles per gallon may as well park it and go home.
The EconoRun began Nov. 15 in New York with 20 college teams driving identical subcompacts on a 3,000-mile course to Buena Park, Calif. They arrived in Salt Lake City late Saturday and were off and running, literally, Sunday morning.
Rather than drive their cars from the parking garage to the day's starting line at the Doubletree Hotel, the students opted to push them. After all, a hundreth of a mile per gallon could determine the outcome of the race, according to organizers.
In the lead coming into Salt Lake City were Medina Thomas and Tamara Hooks of Howard University, who posted 53.51 miles per gallon. The University of Colorado was second with 52.26 miles per gallon.
"Every little thing you do can make a difference," said Thomas, the designated driver for the Howard U. team. "The variables include how you drive against the wind, which gear you are using driving up or down a hill. I try to keep it steady."
So steady, added Hooks, the navigator, that the compact disc player hasn't skipped a beat. The race is a challenge and lot of fun, Hooks said, adding, "It's a great way to see the country, to really see it."
Not only are the students seeing the U.S.A., they are competing for $104,000 in scholarships from Chevrolet.
Leslie Swiedom of the University of Texas team called it "the greatest adventure of my life." Especially when she and fellow sunbird Molly Weaver found them-selves driving through a ground blizzard in Wyoming.
It's not all fun and games, however. Sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, the road rally is monitored with scientific precision.