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Western Washington University is still in the running for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize. The competition is under way right now in Detroit, and the first stage -- the "shakedown stage" -- runs through Friday, May 7.

The purpose of this first stage is to conduct safety inspections and on-track dynamic safety evaluations of competition vehicles, according the the X-Prize website. Teams must submit their cars to on-the-ground challenges for the purpose of shaking out problem areas and preparing their vehicles for the "knockout qualifying stage" that follows, all without risk of elimination by the judges. Vehicles will be tested on braking speed, lane change ability, acceleration and refueling/recharging time, among other elements.

Want to follow the action and stay up-to-date with the latest news? Here are a few good places to start:

Twitter:

• Follow the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø X-Prize team: .
• Follow the Progressive Automotive X-Prize: .
• Conduct a search for hashtag .
• Updates specific to ²ÝÁñÉçÇø also will be posted on the and Twitter feeds.

Facebook:

Blogs:

More:

• For a list of all the remaining teams with links to each team's social media sites, check out .
• Check back here at for any updates as they come available.
• Check out our videos of Viking 45 in action , and .
• For a handful of photos chronicling students' attempts to get Viking 45 up and running, click .
• More videos on some of the various tests students performed on parts of Viking 45 and the prototype, Viking 40: