Pinoy-made electric cars top draw but stuck at QC Circle
01/01/08
Posted under Road Transport, Transport, Charles Buban
By Charles E. Buban
Inquirer
AT THE QUEZON Memorial Circle, a sprawling park at the heart of Quezon City, visitors can take a short test drive to a cleaner, greener future:
For only P30 per lap, they can either take the wheel or hitch a ride on the country’s first electric car developed by a Filipino inventor.
[SIZE=3]The eight prototypes of the “G Car” built by engineer Gerry Caroro[/SIZE] have been attracting some 100 to 200 park goers daily since the fleet was added last Nov. 30 to the Circle’s eco-themed attractions.
“My dream is for every Filipino to one day enjoy wonderful stretches of virtually pollution-free roads, with my
G Cars as the principal mode of personal transport,” said Caroro, who produced the vehicles at an average cost of P280,000 per unit from his West Avenue workshop in QC.
One G Car variant runs on a 48-volt, deep cycle-type battery which Caroro can also supply. When plugged to a standard 220-volt power source, it would only consume between P40 and P60 worth of electricity to be fully recharged in about 8 hours. The car can then cover up to 80 km.
“One model I am particularly promoting could seat two persons in front and two more at the back. It could go for a maximum of 40 kph so it’s just perfect for short rides around the city,” Caroro told the Inquirer.
Of the eight models, one can run on both battery and gasoline (hybrids), and another on battery and solar energy (with solar panels installed on the car’s roof).
Certain models have body profiles which, Caroro said, were inspired by the Philippine Eagle, with front hoods sporting a beak-shaped pattern and doors that swing open at an angle like wings.
Cleaner way to go
“
The G Car represents a cleaner way to move around the city. While this type of mobility is mostly found inside golf courses and sometimes in posh residential communities, I don’t see why it can’t be used in public roads,” he added.
Caroro said he gets two-thirds of the Circle’s daily earnings from the G Car rides.
But being reduced to a mere park curiosity is certainly not what the inventor had in mind after spending over a million pesos for his Earth-friendly rides.
His situation is not unlike those of most Filipino inventors who, lacking government support, struggle to get past the showroom and trade fair circuit and become commercially viable.
Told of Caroro’s case, Ronald Talion, spokesperson of the Filipino Inventors Society, tried to present a bigger picture: “First of all, the P10-million annual budget that is supposed to support us inventors since 2001 is nonexistent.”
“It’s already mandated under Republic Act Act 7459 (Inventors and Invention Incentives Act) and yet, for some strange reason, our inventors have to fend for themselves,” Talion noted.
Founded in 1943, FIS is just one of the 19 recognized inventors associations in the country with a total membership of around 3,200.
Only support
“The only support we get is the P178,000 that is given to us every November to celebrate National Inventors Week (NIW). Obviously this is not enough, which is why a lot of my colleagues were forced to seek support from abroad,” he lamented.
Caroro unveiled his G Car during the 2003 NIW — and he apparently had to wait for almost four years before a “partner” took interest and helped him promote his work.
“The Quezon City Parks Development Foundation Inc. was generous enough to support me in my mission to make the public more aware of electric cars and how this type of vehicle can solve our worsening air pollution,” he said.
The foundation’s president, former QC Vice Mayor Charito Planas, said “it only makes sense to allow the G Car inside the Quezon Memorial Circle since this park advocates clean and green environment as well as healthy lifestyles.”
Public’s appreciation
“We support (him) because his electric cars don’t emit pollutants and for the public to appreciate the advantages they offer,” Planas said.
She said the foundation is also helping Caroro coordinate with City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte on other ways the G Cars can gain exposure, perhaps by allowing some units to be driven on public roads within QC.
At the moment, an electric car like the G Car is still limited to private roads in the country since the Land Transportation Office has yet to draw up measures for the registration of such vehicles.
The process will largely be based on certifications coming from the Department of Science and Technology concerning the technical specs of electric car models.
But by letting park goers take the G Car for a spin, Caroro just wants Filipinos to know that a locally built electric car can now be mass produced, with the potential to change the country’s road landscape for the better.