After the 1999 competition series ended, the FutureCar program was replaced with the FutureTruck program. The FutureTruck program was created to address the environmental and energy related issues created by the increased demand of SUV's in the United States. Fifteen engineering schools from across North America were accepted as the participants in this five-year engineering program. The goal of the competition was to re-engineer a popular SUV to a lower emissions vehicle with an improvement of at least 25% in fuel economy. Each entrant vehicle also was required to meet safety, performance, and utility goals. Main sponsors of the FutureTruck program include the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy, General Motors, and the Ford Motor Company. The program was managed by Argonne National Laboratory's Center for Transportation Research (FutureTruck).
