Automotive News Canada - May 2021 - 26

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05.21

LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE

Race is a boon without the vroom
Growing buzz
for an EV event
with little noise

Vancouver
Councillor Sarah
Kirby-Yung:
Formula E race
is good for
tourism.
PHOTO: CITY OF
VA N C O U V E R

VANCOUVER IS NEAR THE
finish line of getting a Formula E race, which is fitting
for a city in a province where
nearly one in 10 new vehicles
sold is a battery-electric.
In mid-April, Vancouver
City Council was presented a
motion for a Formula E World
Championship event for the
summer of 2022, according

to the Vancouver Sun. The
motion was passed April 29
with approval in the lap of
Formula E's governing body,
the Federation International
de l'Automobile. The target
date is July 22, 2022.
What makes the event
enticing to some councilors is that electric race cars
make far less noise than
internal-combustion racers,
a relief to many residents
who might live near the site.
Councillors Sarah KirbyYung and Michael Wiebe
brought forth the proposal.

" The real driving force
for me is around looking at
COVID-19's economic recovery and the importance of
having economic stimulus
events, particularly for our
hard-hit tourism sector.
" And it is a net-zero [emission] event, certified by the
[United Nations]. ... And the
idea of bringing that level of
dialogue into the city with
leading experts from the electrification space as we work
toward sustainable transportation will have a lot of benefits for the city. " - ANC

TOYOTA HAS ANNOUNCED
the Canadian finalists in its Dream Car
Art Contest, which invited budding artists, designers and engineers to share
their ideas about the future of mobility.
The nine youths, aged 8 to 15, will
move on to the world finals and a chance
to win a prize valued at US $15,000. Each
finalist will receive a $250 online retail
gift card to KiwiCo.
" The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest
aims to foster innovation and creativity
in youth ages 15 and under, " the automaker says.
Entrants included the " BeeMobile "
from Shaivee Bhatt, 11, and " The
Shopping Car " by six-year-old Emily
Hao.
Bhatt said his car " takes care of the
bees that play a vital role in our ecosystem. It keeps harmful pesticides away
from the bees so they can pollinate
flowers, grow honey and 'live a sweet,
long life.' "
Hao's entry " makes shopping more
accessible for everyone by allowing them
to fly around stores to collect items. It
comes with an 'auto-arm grabber' which
helps reach items in high places and
carry heavy goods. "
The full gallery of entries can be
found at media.toyota.ca.
The Canadian contest closed Jan.
8, and winners by age group were
announced in mid-April. - ANC

The amount the federal government
earmarked in its 2021 budget for a
fund that automakers can tap into
for green projects.

Automotive expertise
helps mold designer's
chair from recycled metal

A Jeep owner
drove over graves
and learned that
karma has an
afterlife.
PHOTO: OPP

BAD IDEA: 4X4-ING
IN A GRAVEYARD
Jeep driving on
cemetery leads
to arrest in peace

OFF-ROAD ENTHUSIASTS
are always looking for new
ground to conquer, but an
Ontario man's trip to the great
beyond took it too far. Way too
far.
Provincial police charged
the man with disturbing a burial site and interfering with a
cemetery when he took his Jeep
through a graveyard in the city
of Caledon, 60 kilometres northwest of downtown Toronto.
According to CTV News, the
Ontario Provincial Police said
the man drove the vehicle over

graves in late March.
Call it karma or simply help
from the great beyond, but the
man was eventually caught
because the Jeep became stuck
in the snow. Police found the
vehicle in the cemetery, far
from the road. It remained
there overnight until it could
be towed.
Provincial police in Caledon
issued a reminder to anyone
wanting to " test your 4x4 capabilities " to do so somewhere
legally.
" Not only can it be an
offence, but hidden dangers could exist and/or property could be damaged or
destroyed. "
Police said no gravestones
were damaged. - ANC

SAY WHAT?

Auto innovation in the hands of a
six-year-old: " The Shopping Car "
by Emily Hao. P H O T O : T O Y O TA C A N A D A

$8
BILLION

Sitting pretty

Youngsters
are drawn
to driving

From the 'BeeMobile' to
the 'The Shopping Car,'
kids think outside the box

THIS
NUMBER

The hurdles are quite high, but I
think we can get [over] them.

Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe on the automaker's decision
to phase out internal-combustion engines in all new
automobiles by 2040, from a story at automotivenews.ca.

A FUNKY NEW LIGHTWEIGHT CHAIR
created by British designer Tom Dixon and
a Norwegian aluminum company might
never have seen the light of day had it
not been for a
Canadian auto
supplier.
The Hydro
Chair is made of
recyclable aluminum, one of the
few materials that
can be repurposed
endlessly without
losing its properties and therefore
an ideal material for " a circular
economy. "
In a news
release, Dixon
said he loves to
work with aluminum " due to its
endless design
opportunities. "
But the problem was getting
his idea from his
head into form.
" I was seriA Quebec sheetmetal
ously trying to
company helped
think of an ecodesigner Tom Dixon
nomical way of
getting soft edges create the aluminum
and strength into Hydro Chair using an
the sheet, " Dixon automotive technique
called superforming.
said.
PHOTO: TOM DIXON
Enter Quebec S T U D I O S
sheetmetal company Verbom, which counts electric-vehicle company Tesla as one its customers.
Verbom used an automotive technique
called superforming to bring the chair to
life. It sprayed molten aluminum into a onepiece mold and then allowed it to harden,
according to Yahoo News. The result is a single piece that can have more precise lines
and details than designs that use molds or
stamps.
" The advantage of working with car companies is they have more advanced everything, " Dixon told Yahoo. " The furniture
business is lagging behind in ergonomics,
material science ... all sorts of stuff. Being
able to work with the top aluminum and
material experts in the industry was an
opportunity I couldn't refuse. " - ANC

http://media.toyota.ca http://www.automotivenews.ca

Automotive News Canada - May 2021

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