Cannabis electric car to be made in Canada

[marmar]

This vehicle needs a nickname..... :smoke:



from CBC News:




An electric car made of hemp is being developed by a group of Canadian companies in collaboration with an Alberta Crown corporation.

The Kestrel will be prototyped and tested later in August by Calgary-based Motive Industries Inc., a vehicle development firm focused on advanced materials and technologies, the company announced.

The compact car, which will hold a driver and up to three passengers, will have a top speed of 90 kilometres per hour and a range of 40 to 160 kilometres before needing to be recharged, depending on the type of battery, the company said in an email to CBC News Monday.

It will be powered by a motor made by Boucherville, Que.-based TM4 Electrodynamic Systems, said Motive Industries president Nathan Armstrong. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/08/23/cannabis-hemp-electric-car-kestrel-motive.html#ixzz0xTYKAdG3

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Wasn't this a subplot in Cheech & Chong's "Up In Smoke" movie?

[mike_c]

4. LOL-- I just scrolled down from the OP and the first thing I saw...

...was that van. :rofl:

Don't come a-knockin' when the van is a-rockin'!

[slackmaster]

2. They need an ad sponsor

[Buns_of_Fire]

3. It doesn't really RUN, but after a few tokes on the tailpipe, who cares?

BTW, you gonna eat that Twinkie?:smoke:

[Pool Hall Ace]

5. Love it!! Isn't there a DU poster named Kestrel?

[RainDog]

6. what a smart idea

Automotive pioneer Henry Ford first built a car made of hemp fibre and resin more than half a century ago.

Producing composites from glass or carbon fibre requires intense heating in furnaces and multiple chemical processes, Armstrong said, making it very energy intensive,

In contrast, plant-based fibres grow in a field using the energy of the sun.

"As a structural material, hemp is about the best," Armstrong said, as it has about twice the strength of other plant fibres. It doesn't require much water or pesticide use, and grows well in Canada, providing a high yield per hectare.

they also note they have an advantage b/c hemp is illegal to grow in the U.S.

...just another way that the right wing in this nation continues to retard progress and options for a better world.