With the peak oil crisis looming, the Vee 9 solar vehicle or 1 person and an ample load of groceries. It can
has been getting a lot of press recently. And for good reach speeds of up to 21 miles per hour.
reason — it promises the same guilt-free commute But in true, open source tradition, the vehicle’s
experience as trendier rides like the Toyota Prius and co-creators welcome design improvements or
Ford Escape — but for nearly $20,000 less. variations from other tinkerers. What they ask in
However, DI Y does mean you have to build it return is simple: just let them know what you learned.
yourself. And don’t expect to see Cameron Diaz The duo claims to have driven the Vee 9 for trips of
tooling around Hollywood in one any time soon: up to 170 miles. Each of those trips required an hour-
the boxy bio-auto bears large panels for collecting long recharge stop. Among the words of wisdom
ambient light, and resembles a “what-if-they- you’ll find on their solarvehicles.org site is a hilarious
mated” mash up between a Coney Island go-kart FAQ with answers to questions like, “How far can you
and a Burning Man art car. go before needing to recharge the batteries?” Their
Funny appearance aside, the Vee 9 is the product response: “This is not [a question] for Light-Driven
of serious engineering smarts. Canadian developers Vehicles … which are plugged into the sun.”
Jeff Dekzty and Will Scully designed the two- —Xeni Jardin seater to be built easily from a list of parts totaling a mere $1,600. Required components include >>Plans and part lists are available online at solarvehicles. about 200 cellphone batteries, commercially org/pages/3/, and there’s a group for likeminded builders available solar panels, and a 500-watt magnetic hub. at groups. msn.com/BioMod/.
With a maximum load of 300 pounds and a clearance range of 7 feet, the vehicle carries 2 people,
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