Human powered car with top speed of 100kmh
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We’ve heard and seen cars that are powered by batteries, alternative fuels, and solar power over the last two and a half decades or so, as certain establishments and individuals in the automotive industry try to produce and promote cars and vehicles that are better for the environment. Years ago before most of us were even born, there came about a now popular American cartoon called the ‘Flinstones’ that was set during a so-called ‘civilized-stone-age-time’ where vehicles in this cartoon were human powered, with the cartoon characters using their legs and feet to move the cars or vehicles they were in, notably the main characters in the ‘Flinstones’ cartoon, Fred Flinstone and his best friend Barney.

Recently it has come to our attention that a car that is powered by a human, or humans, though not immobilized into movement and motion through the use of human legs, has been created by an innovative American engineer. This American engineer has put his wits together for over four decades to create and developed a car that can run purely on people power and reach speeds of up to 60mph, or 100kmh, which is quite impressive to say the least.

Known as the HumanCar Imagine PS, the odd looking vehicle which resembles a child’s car is operated by hand cranks. Unlike the ‘Flinstones’ cartoon where Fred Flinstone and Barney operate and move their cars through the use and movement of their legs, the driver and passengers in the HumanCar Imagine PS operate crank levers in a back and forth motion with the use of their hands to generate power that propels the car. It can reach an impressive hand-powered top speed of 60mph or 100kmh on flat grounds, and 30mph or 50kmh up hills and slopes, though this depends on the stamina and strength of the HumanCar Imagine PS’s driver and passengers.

The HumanCar Imagine PS can accommodate up to four passengers and it’s a case of the more the merrier, and the more then there’s more power, and there’s less strain on the driver as more human bodies equals more power where the HumanCar Imagine PS is concerned. There is also a back up electric battery to boost power when there are less or no passengers so that if the driver is alone the driver does not suffer and tire out too much due to fatigue.

This revolutionary and innovative vehicle is the brainchild of American engineer Charles Greenwood, who has been developing it for over 40 years, in fact from the time when the ‘Flinstones’ cartoon first hit the screens of the ‘idiot box’, the television. He began the project way back during the ‘Flower Power’ and ‘Hippie times’ in 1968, as a way to reduce exhaust pollution and make lazy drivers healthier by moving about and being able to have a good workout at the same time.

The HumanCar Imagine PS is due to go on sale next year after four decades of development and research, and is expected to cost about £10,000, which is equivalent to the price of a base model Perodua Myvi and Proton Saga BLM, which is costly actually as the HumanCar Imagine PS costs that much without an engine, stereo, air-conditioning, a roof and windows, as well as creature comforts such as power steering, power windows and comfortable seats. The HumanCar Company claims that the general American public has responded quite well to the HumanCar Imagine PS, as it has already received 100 pre-orders.

A roof is being developed for production cars of the HumanCar Imagine PS as it is needed and necessary for protection against the hot sun, especially with the current global climate changes that has witnessed rising temperatures and searing heat, and there are plans to add a touch-screen satnav system and airbags as the HumanCar Imagine PS does have a rather fast top speed of 100kmh.

The HumanCar company has a long-term business plan, inline with the fact that it did take forty years to develop this hand-powered car, and it intends to market the HumanCar Imagine PS in developing countries, possibly even in Malaysia and probably the South East Asian region. Though if it is sold here and in other places where the weather is hot and humid, then it is strongly suggested that the HumanCar Company should include an air-conditioning system in the HumanCar Imagine PS, just like how development and studies are being carried out now to include a touch screen satnav system and airbags for the near future. If this hand-powered car does become well received, to the point of being the next best thing to happen in the automotive industry, then this could spell the end for designer gyms and weight-loss establishments, and not forgetting reality weight-loss programs and shows, as people in general would be able to keep fit and keep the fats at bay simply by moving about in the HumanCar Imagine PS. Full production of the HumanCar Imagine PS by the HumanCar company is slated to begin when the company has received 800 pre-orders, but the HumanCar Imagine PS has already been certified as road legal in the United States.

Contributed by Azdee Amir

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