[sanddrag]

In response to Jnadke above, I completely disagree. Sure it is great to be realistic, which you might be, but let us just have a chance. It gets us excited anyhow. There is nothing bad that can come from entering a competition which celebrates science and technology. Have we forgotten the meaning of FIRST? It is not about winning or losing, it is about what you learn in the experience and the good times you have while doing it. So what if the kids' car goes 50 feet? What's it to you? I bet from that project that made the 50 foot run they will learn something much more valuable than the winner would ever have learned. We all have dreams okay. It does no good for you or anyone else to inhibit them. So just let us race to Vegas alright?

And if you insist on talking about the compeition side of things, just look at our robot. We made it to the final match and gave Kingman a run for their money - they even say so. We even won the KISS award from Archer. Our robot was completely student designed and built except for 4 welds and 2 simple CNC parts. And, in Phoenix, we got 3rd seed, semifinalists, and we killed our oponents.

Now, for this DARPA compeition, so what if it takes a pro dune buggy? They are actually quite simple. I'm sure any group of veteran FIRSTers would have no trouble building one. Or what about a truck? Trucks are so simple - especially old ones. All it would take is a little money and a little inginuity. And professional help is not as hard to find as you may think. It is definitely do-able.