[gallery ids="822,823,824,825,826,827"] It's been way too long, but I am still actively working on the Roopod so much to show and tell the biggest event was the work done by a intersession class at Amherst College on Social Entrepreneurship led by professor Megan Briggs-Lyster, they came up with a marketing plan to use the Roopod project to leverage awareness and education about sustainable transportation.  I will post more details shortly.  But for now a great big thank you to the team for all the hard work and great ideas!

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]

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

Here are some pictures of the begining of the canopy...The hinges and gas struts are designed to clear everything that needed to be cleared when it opens, and hold it there...I might have to get the next weaker gas struts as these ones seem like they have more push then I really wanted (it pops open with too much force) it will be alot heavier with all the glass and lexan, but still I think that the are too "pushy"...It was Very Scary cutting the tubes with a hacksaw! [nggallery id=14]

Hey everybody! the roopod is street legal check out the pics! check out the video [nggallery id=13]

[nggallery id=12] I am just a couple of days away from trying to get the 'pod inspected...just need a rear fender and a few reflectors...but we may have tried it on the road, and we may have gone 48.2 MPH! (slight downhill) more soon, this is just a teaser...there are so many back-posts to put in...very soon...roo

Here was the next item on the list towards roadworthiness...just a couple of simple levers right? not quite, I have three days into the design and construction of this unit.   The hardest thing to figure out was the Push-pull cable arrangement of the two shift cables...how can you get two cables in tension to push and pull on the same lever, and since the lever on the gearbox is pointing to the rear when it is in forward gear, how do you get the shifter to have the reverse action...that is probably a run on!  Anyway, it is possible, it does work and I will try to explain it...It is all about the cable "housing" if the cable is in tension and pulling, then the little tube around the cable (housing) must be pushing! and if you push on the housing, then you are pulling on the cable, so at the shifter end, on one cable, I anchor the end of the cable and push on the housing, and the other end I anchor the end of the housing  and pull the lever with the cable anchored on it: this moves  the lever on the gearbox forward when I pull back on the shift ...

Hi everyone, well it is official ROOPOD will actually drive.  I have been working like a demon on getting everything ready to drive and we are here! I will try to list some of my most critical observations:  Suspension is working great, ride height is a little low for the rough roads around here, and my driveway but I will fix that with some slightly taller shocks in the back. Brakes are doing what they should (as far as I can tell in the yard!) I may need to adjust the balance bar a bit to keep the back from locking up first...the real test will have to wait till I can get some speed up on the road. Steering seems just perfect, I seem to have got the steering geometry just right, the wheel feels lite in the hands, but not sloppy at all, center return is good and there is no play or stiction anywhere= fancy rack payed off! again we  need high speed testing. Drive-train: Engine runs fine, is just about as vibratory as I thought it would be, and maybe a little less loud seems good about not belching much black smoke when under heavy acceleration. CVT seems to be just right, enguages ...

Hi everybody, here finally is progress! YES! I have had some time to work on roopod and a lot is happening very fast! I have included a bunch of pictures of the systems that I have worked on: they include BRAKES, THROTTLE, COOLING, and the begining of electrical look for captions on the pictures for more details...also incuded is the first time that roopod rolled down a hill, and stpped at the bottom with brakes! Susan at the controls, and the first show of the year in Amherst! enjoy the pictures...more to come soon I plan to be driving around the yard by the end of the week! [nggallery id=8]

Here are some more pictures of the 'pod in it's current state taken by my friend Ford Bailey it's amazing what a real photographer with a real camera can do! enjoy... [nggallery id=6]

My apologies, I was so crazed trying to get ready for the OGC that I neglected regular posts for a couple weeks there, and now this post is going to be big....again sorry... First, the pictures: [nggallery id=4] these pictures include pictures of construction progress leading up to the OGC and pictures at the start of the OGC in Greefield, MA, and Pictures at the finish in Boston, MA, and some pictures out in the yard yesterday. here are some links to press coverage as well http://www.necn.com/Boston/SciTech/2009/08/20/Drivers-take-on-One-Gallon/1250806914.html http://green.autoblog.com/2009/08/24/one-gallon-challenge-alt-fuel-race-cars-get-up-to-164-mpge/ this is the report by Jory Squib that is on the autoblog green sight: This weekend's One Gallon Challenge in Massachusetts resulted in some pretty amazing fuel economy results. The five vehicles that took part in the race challenge (any line of of cars that starts "in stately, fuel-conserving style" can't really be called a race, can it?) made the 100-mile drive into Boston and posted fuel efficiency results as follows: MIT's all-electric Porsche – 164 MPGe (plug-to-wheels) or 75MPGe (well-to-wheels) Moonbeam – 93 MPGe Dirigo – 88 MPGe Ricker Truck – 70 MPGe Wood-burning truck – 27.7 MPGe OGC organizer Jory Squibb said the vehicles helped show solutions for "our complex evolution to ultra-economy" and promised to hold the event again next year. Fun ...

Hi there, Everybody! It Rolls! yeah! ok-ok enough... I am very tired, I stayed up till three last night working on steering arms etc, and I don't have the energy to caption all the pictures: So here is a brief overview caption... there are pictures of parts provided by Greasecar to convert the 'POD to be able to run on veggy oil, or 100% biodiesel all winter (thanks Greasecar!) and a picture of the wire harness provided by Rebel Wire (Thanks Rebel Wire)...look on the links page for their links...and there are some pictures of the steering wheel "frame" getting machined...will have a wood core around the rim...and wrapped with leather...it's 10-1/2" in Dia, and then the pictures I have been waiting for for more than a year...It rolls...That's Leilani, my daughter in the yellow hoody and that's our "big" car the VW New Beetle!  Then there are some pictures of the 'Pod next to my friend Bob's Miata...the Miata is pretty big too!  Then that's My partner Susan, and My freind Bob taking a ride in the 'Pod...I am very happy So far, most everything is working like I thought it would!  Hopefully I will come back and fix this post ...