UVic EcoCAR Team Gets in the Olympic Spirit at Victoria’s Livingcolours Festival

The University of Victoria EcoCAR team was thrilled that the 2010 Olympics were held in their country, in Vancouver, Canada.  The UVic EcoCAR team joined the celebrations in Victoria by participating in Livingcolours, a three-day festival hosted by the City of Victoria. Despite the grey weather, there was an excellent turnout and the community came together to celebrate their Olympic spirit.

Following the example that the Vancouver Winter Olympics have set by attempting to be the greenest games yet, the UVic team used Livingcolours as an opportunity to speak with the public about advanced vehicle technologies. To garner interest, the UVic team set up a mini-Olympic event of PlasmaCar races, toy cars that are powered by using the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, gravity, and friction, which attracted both kids and adults alike. Using these fun, simplified cars, the UVic team was able to demonstrate how it is possible to use clean renewable energy resources, such as electricity in UVic’s own plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, to help power cars in a more efficient and eco-friendly way.

Check out UVic’s video that captures a few race highlights and the atmosphere of the day at Livingcolours which took place in Centennial Square in downtown Victoria.