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Also, The Boston Globe recently did an article and video. Here's the video: boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/04/22/video
Moonbeam makes an appearance with Click and Clack, the tappet brothers on the PBS Nova program Tuesday night April 22. You
can watch this at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/program.html
Moonbeam appears three quarters through chapter one: hitting the road.
And in case you're not completely video-ed out, video apprentices here in Camden did this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRZo1yyxQOU
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Keep track of how you use your
car(s) on a weekly basis. You might see that you are often using a large car when you could be using a very
small car. Getting groceries, picking up kids, going to the doctor's--these are often errands which don't take us far
from home, or require speeds more than 40MPH. Perhaps you could substitute a tiny car, a sort
of enclosed motorscooter for these situations--a microcar.
Frustrated with the price of my Toyota's fill-up, I built a
microcar in my garage over the 2005-6 winter. It's no beauty queen I admit. I used $2500 in materials and about
1000 hours of labor. Named "Moonbeam", it weighs 400 pounds, gets 85 MPG around town and 105 MPG on an economy
run.
I know that most people are not about to take on such a project--satisfying
though it's been-- but I am hoping that within a few years, such cars will become common. When they do,
we will use only a fraction of the resources and fuel to move our bodies around, and be rewarded
by spending only $5 for a fill-up.
This website has gotten pretty bulky, since I love to write.
So, to get an overview, just look at the pictures and specifications, and later, if you have the time and interest,
dig deeper. The page, "How to build Moonbeam" was the original centerpiece of the site.
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T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia)
said something like: "The dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they dream their dreams with open eyes, and
make them come true. "
One of the things I love about this website is the contact it brings with
other dreamers and do-ers. In December 2006, I took Moonbeam to the
Altcarexpo in Santa Monica and had such a great time comparing notes with others. See "Maine to Santa Monica" for the
travel diary and "Report..." to read what I learned.
Santa Monica Expo: Would you buy a used car from this man?
LA Times photo. The Times was full of praise: "In sharp contrast to other cars, the Moonbeam
was a bubble car that resembled the ball turret of a bomber and looked about as uncomfortable. Fortunately, Jory Squibb,
who was content to look a bit like an eccentric Yankee, has no plans to mass produce the three-wheeler."
One very exciting eco-event is coming up: see auto.xprize.org
This is a competition to develop a 100 MPG car which is reasonable to produce and market. It takes place over the next
two years and should be an exciting process to be a part of. I hope the forum part of their website will be a real
hotbed of idea exchange, although I suspect many teams will be secretive! The forum is auto.xprize.org/forum/index.php We
have formed a team of about 20 people in this part of Maine and have met about 6 times as of July 2007.
An entry has to have performance as well as economy:
12 seconds to 60 MPH and 80 MPH top speed. No cobbed-together scooters, please...
See the last page of this website for updates.
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email: moonbeam25@verizon.net
Keep in touch! I hope we will meet at one of this summer's eco-activities. (see second
web page)
 
SOME RIGHTS RESERVED
(see "how you may use..." page)
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