Text from the Friday, February 28, 1997 Ottawa Citizen article on page C6.
Last updated 1997.03.02
By Wes Smiderle - Citizen staff writer
A rally to put high school students on the fast track to developing non-polluting vehicles may hit Capital City Speedway by May of next year.
The rally -- a competition made up of battery-powered cars -- is being organized by the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa. Council members met with local high-school teachers last Friday to pitch the idea.
Students would design and build the vehicles. The team whose vehicle travels the greatest distance in one hour would win.
"It's exciting to present students with a problem and then watch them solve it," said John Davidson, who has approached more than 80 schools in Ontario and western Quebec. "They get turned on by technical design and this competition allows them to develop their ingenuity."
Similar races have been held in Vancouver and Kingston.
Davidson, a retired auto-repair teacher at Laurentian High School, is president of EVCO, an organization that seeks to improve the environment through the replacement of internal combustion engines.
The Electrathon standard calls for a light vehicle (about 90 kilograms), with an aerodynamic design and three or four wheels. EVCO showed teachers at McArthur High School an Electrathon car built primarily of used bicycle parts and powered by two 12-volt batteries. Friction drive motors contact the rear tire tread, letting the car reach 40 km/h.
Davidson said each vehicle can be built for less than $1,000, with the most expensive item being the motor at about $500. Each would take 50 to 100 hours of class time. Davidson has asked high-tech corporations for aid and hopes to sign up schools by mid-March. He can be reached at 824-1702.
The accompanying photograph by Bruno Schlumberger, Citizen, which measures 22 cm x 17 cm (8.5 inches x 6.5 inches) as printed in the newspaper, has the caption:
"John Davidson demonstrates electric car he hopes competing high schools will build and race"
Colour photograph accompanying article (154 k)
