Check out some recent pics from our trip to Portland, ME for a sustainable vehicle seminar at Southern Maine Community College and afterward, out trip to take the ROOPOD to my nephew's Bike race the Red Hook Criterium!  Also please watch this rough Video that I put together of ROOPOD construction and a abit of driving around... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_h2xOYgWko [nggallery id=20]  

  I had a great trip to RISD Tuesday, both the drive there and very invigorating discussions about both the 'POD and the Electrathon car class  that Michael Beresford invited me to participate in! After a reschedule to to rain the previous Thursday,  Tuesday dawned overcast but dry.  I had decided on a very back-road route through south central Massachusetts, northwest Connecticut, the eastern side of Rhode Island.  The 'POD worked like it was supposed to, with added luxury provided by finally having all the windows in!  I could block off the cold 40-something morning air!  A Stop in Palmer, MA filled up the tank ($8.06) and I was on my way.  Part of my route was on MA-20 through the towns of Brimfield and Sturbridge and the path of this summer's tornado that touched down in springfield.  I was amazed by the devastation right down the road from where I live.  The route then took me through Southbridge, an interesting good sized mill town that I had not heard of, then on to Woodstock and Putnam CT before crossing  into   Rhode Island on CT-44 at Gloucester.  After a brief episode in north Providence and GPS glitch, I was there! After a ...

I am showing the ROOPOD at my Alma mater Rhode Island School of Design tomorrow! I will be outside the Industrial Design Building on Water Street with the ROOPOD from 11:00am to 1:00pm if you are in town please come see the 'POD and ask any questions you might have! Here is a Google map of the area:  if you need to you could get ddirectiond to here with the map link... ">View Larger Map

The ROOPOD competed in the 2011 One Gallon Challenge,  a 100 mile race from Plymouth to Boston, MA.  As part of this event, I drove the 'POD to Plymouth the night before the event (130 miles) and camped out at the starting venue.  Race day dawned nice and sunny but quite warm.  The 'POD was competing with Dirigo ( www.dirigocar.com ) ,BITW ( www.bitwtech.com ) and Moonbeam ( http://home.myfairpoint.net/vze6omtd/jorysquibb/index.html ) .        We left at about 11:00am from Plymouth caravan style planning on a route comprised of mostly back roads and small towns.  As this was a race for fuel efficiency we wanted all the cars to have the same route, speed and real world driving conditions.  Somehow I was elected to lead our caravan with my gps skills (HA HA HA) and the others would follow each of us keeping the next one back in our mirror...unfortunately, Jory Squibb with Moonbeam was last in the que, and also meant to go slower than the rest of us...result we lost him about 30 miles in.  And then I navigated us onto a section of MA-25 that I did not notice was a divided highway till it was too late...Poor Jory in tiny ...

  Come Watch the ROOPOD compete, or be displayed at Boston City Hall Plaza!

I finally got to the tail light, I had been running a regular 4" truck tail light double taped to the 'POD and it was time to put the final light in.   LED SUPPLY ( WWW.LEDSUPPLY.COM) sponsored this project with donations of their EndorStar high powered LED's and Buckpuck and Powerpuck drivers (and lots of advice on how to use them)  I used a stick-on reflector lens for the brake light (still reflects too!) and the appropriate optic for the back-up light.  The housing is machined aluminum that doubles as a heat sink for the high powered LED's.  The little perfboard circuit provides the need electronics to isolate the tail from the brake light and switches in a resistor for the tail light control circuit that dims it (it uses a little 12v relay and a couple of diodes).   Anyway, check out the pictures and please visit LED SUPPLY'S website...really great service and very cool LED'S! [nggallery id=17]

      Stewart Systems has donated a complete finishing kit for the ROOPOD!  The finish is an amazing ceramic like coating that will be applied to the bare aluminium directly (just wipe on) and will be tougher than anodizing, very easy to apply and emits no bad VOC's in the process (plus it will take just about 8oz to do the whole 'pod!  I will post pictures and how when I start to finish! (a little more bodywork to do before finishing)   Thanks STEWART SYSTEMS!

[caption id="attachment_714" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="The ROOPOD in Shutesbury's 250th Annual Parade "][/caption]   here is the link from this picture: note that ROOPOD is Diesel, not Electric!

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Some press from theGreen Grand Prix: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/sports/17green.html http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/autoracing/articles/2011/04/15/watkins_glen_greener_than_ever/ This story was all over the place!  we had a great time, the 'pod did great and we can't wait to finish every detail!

Check out the sheet metal... [nggallery id=15]

      ROOPOD WILL COMPETE! SUPPORT TEAM ROOPOD AS WE COMPETE IN THIS EVENT!!! Please click on this link to a secure facebook/Paypal donation page where you can use your credit/debit card to contribute. ? WATKINS GLEN, NY – Drivers of alternate-fueled vehicles, hybrids, and traditional gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles will have two unique opportunities to test their mettle at the 2011 Green Grand Prix on Friday, April 15. Organizers are cranking up the challenges and excitement this year by taking the Green Grand Prix to the famed road course of Watkins Glen International. “The Green Grand Prix Committee is proud to be partnering with WGI for this exciting event geared towards efficiency and sustainability. It’s a showcase of technology that points towards a cleaner environment,” said Gillespie, Chairman of the Green Grand Prix Committee of the IMRRC. The Green Grand Prix, now in its seventh year, promotes the growth of clean and sustainable innovation in the Northeast. “As the chairperson of the Green Initiative Committee for our parent company, International Speedway Corporation, I am thrilled that we are hosting this great event,” said Michael Printup, president of Watkins Glen International. “The Glen has made a strong commitment to being green with initiatives such as our extensive ...