Puma-Inspired Hybrid Car Prowls Mexican University Campus
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 12. 5.07
It's only fitting that the new multi-platform hybrid vehicle out of Mexico's National Autonomous University was inspired by the university's beloved mascot, the puma. We hope the hydrogen and fuel cell-powered vehicle will inspire the same fanaticism that the soccer-playing Pumas ignite.
The car was developed by students in the industrial design graduate program, headed by Óscar Salinas. The car fits into Salinas's Ecovía project, launched in 2005 to
develop ecological solutions to transportation problems. Ecovía says the vehicle will have an average speed of 70-80 km/h (about 50-55 mph) and will be able to run for 300 km (190 miles) before refueling.
The most innovative feature is that the car can be adapted for different uses: ambulance, surveillance, postal service, plastic waste recycling and telecommunications and culture promotion, hence its "multi-platform" description.
The vehicle is still in development, but this fall, three test vehicles hit the university's streets, serving as transport for students, staff and patients at the university's hospital. And the UNAM plans to substitute 150 security vehicles and 30 ambulances with the new Ecovía model.::Via CNNExpansion.com (Spanish link) and Hybrid Car News
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There's a typo in the title, and that is ridiculous!
TH: spellcheck doesn't do the title block and catches us every time. Thanks for noticing!
I can just hear the Geico mascot now. . .
^_~
Tucker: What kind of car is it?
Church: I dunno, I've never seen a car like that before. It looks like a...uh...like a big cat of some kind.
Tucker: What, like a puma?
Church: Yeah, man, there you go.
nice post thanks
It´s really interesting what you guys are doing. Keep on doing a good work.