For the fifth year in a row, there's $1,500 on the line in a slow and steady winter race featuring melting ice.
The Rotary Club of Iron Mountain-Kingsford in Michigan is holding its fifth annual Car Plunge Contest, where participants all over the world get the chance to win $1,500 by guessing when a 1998 Saturn perched on a sheet of ice will break through.
Participants pay $10 and get to submit three guesses on the club’s website, where they must include a date and a time. When the car falls goes under, the club will pick the winner with the closest time.
Club secretary and chair for the Car Plunge Contest Committee Jayna Huotari said the closest anyone has been previously was within forty minutes of the plunge time.
“They try to get really technical about their guess times and the depth of the pit and the thickness of the ice,” Huotari said. “We encourage all the scientists out there to do their best.”
The earliest in the season the car has plunged was in 2016 when it went through the ice on March 17 at 1:57 p.m. Last year's plunge was the latest so far, when the big moment came on April 26 at 10:40 a.m.
She also said that guessers should consider the fact that this is no ordinary sedan. Many modifications were made the vehicle to comply with Michigan environmental rules and regulations.
Auto tech students from the Dickinson – Iron Technical Education Center removed the engine, transmission, power train, battery, radiator, fluid coolers, master cylinder and heater hoses. They also removed any oils, greases, road grime and vehicle contaminate, according to the club’s website. The Saturn was then painted bright orange by an auto body class so that it can be seen in the middle of the snow on the club’s web cam.
The only parts of the Saturn that remain intact is the suspension system, which include tires and the steering gear, to make it easier to get the car on the ice.
“We know there are a lot of things in that pit, but we’re not going to contribute to that,” Huotari said. “That’s part of our environmental responsibility.”
The sedan was dropped down the bank of the East Chapin pit on Jan. 26, a day that boasted temperatures 10 degrees below zero. The car is tethered to the bank, which is how it’s able to be pulled up from the ice one it takes the plunge.
It’s the fifth and final time that the club will be using the Saturn. Huotari says she’s not sure what’s in store for the car’s future but teased that it might make a guest appearance in the town’s Fourth of July parade.
“This car has really taken such a beating this past five years,” Huotari said. “[This year] is really going to be its swan song.”
In its first week, the contest had received a couple hundred entries. That number has since quadrupled and the club has received guesses from all over the world.
“It’s amazing for people in the southern part of the U.S. or other countries that don’t see snow or ice,” Huotari said. “They’re just fascinated by this.”
While the car plunge contest has received entries as far as Germany, canisters are placed throughout the local community to collect guesses. The funds from the contest stay local and contribute to community projects and scholarships given out every year.
“It’s a lot of fun, it’s a lot of work leading up to it,” Huotari said. “It’s one more thing to get us looking forward to spring.”
