Solar Car Takes International Test Drive

A Toronto man is putting a solar car to the ultimate test: On June 12th, he began an international road trip that will take him from Buffalo, New York, all the way up to Inuvik, in Canada's Northwest Territories.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on July 01 2008

Solar cars sound like a great idea in theory - but what about those of us who live in perennial gray and gloomy climates? If you can’t rely on your car to get you home during a thunderstorm, you might need to rethink your vehicular choice.

For those of us in doubt, a Toronto man, Marcelo da Luz, is putting a solar car to the ultimate test: On June 12th, he began an international road trip that will take him from Buffalo, New York, all the way up to Inuvik, in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

This time of year in Inuvik, the sun stays out 24 hours a day, which you’d think would make it pretty smooth sailing once he starts heading into the region.

Not exactly: “Inuvik represents the greatest challenge for any solar car in the world,” da Luz told CBC News. “The sun is low in the horizon, so it’s not good sunlight for solar cars. And then you have the road, the Dempster Highway, that’s 750 kilometres of gravel.”

Da Luz is hoping to make his triumphant arrival in Inuvik by the end of this week. And though his road trip serves as a kind of test drive to study the power of his solar car, that’s not his only reason for driving. He’s hoping his solar-powered voyage will serve as inspiration to others to come up with sustainable and eco-friendly ways to live.

“We are a bunch of hypocrites,” he said. “We’re all waiting for the government, someone or something, to save the planet for us. And it’s not going to happen unless we do something about it.”

Filed under: General Interest, Green,

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