A truly renewable vehicle comes to the Philippines: coconut oil-fueled bamboo taxi
Bamboo Taxi - click above image for high-res gallery
Making powertrains more efficient is only one part of reducing the environmental impact of vehicles. The energy required to mine and process raw materials into the components that comprise a vehicle and then transport it to the end customer can often amount to a significant fraction of the total energy used to operate the vehicle. In the town of Tabontabon in the Philippines, they have started building new taxis based on renewable materials. The bodywork is made entirely from bamboo. Since bamboo is a grass, it can be harvested and it grows back. It's also extremely strong and lightweight. Of course, this vehicle still won't come close to meeting the crash test standards in North America or Europe but for a low cost, low speed vehicle in a rural area it's a great alternative. Even the fuel is renewable as the engines in these vehicles are fueled by biodiesel produced from coconut oil. Thanks to Philip for the tips!
Gallery: Bamboo Taxis in the Philippines
[Source: Fast Company]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brammofan 12:07PM (7/13/2009)
Sorry, but I can't look at this without envisioning Gilligan behind the steering wheel, and the Howell's sitting as passengers, sipping out of their bamboo cups with little umbrellas sticking out of them.
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Bip-D-Bo 2:38PM (7/13/2009)
I envision Cheech and Chong. "No, the pot is the van!"
Stan Wellaway 12:17PM (7/13/2009)
And if I can find enough reclaimed wool, methinks I might knit me a Porsche
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monica 12:55PM (7/13/2009)
can anything good come from that country . . .
Oh, the Prius is for sale there this year . . . at $46,000+. tsk tsk tsk.
No wonder for a country that was sold for $20M.
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vfx 1:04PM (7/13/2009)
http://www.gilligansisle.com/images/bamboo%20car.jpg
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GenKhan2 3:12PM (7/13/2009)
Increasing the flammability of a car is always a plus. Add a couple hundred Li-ion batteries and it'll be complete!
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Eugenian 3:12AM (7/14/2009)
Wow, that's dangerous. Very high in saturated fat.
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ray 11:42PM (7/14/2009)
Well it is about time. The new GM and Chrysler could learn a thing or two from these people. They need to fire their engineers and hire from the philippines.
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