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The fourth annual Green Grand Prix takes place next weekend in Watkins Glen in upstate New York. AutoblogGreen received a few photos taken at the 2007 Green Grand Prix that we'd like to share. Looks like some of our old friends were a the race last year, along with some vehicles we'd like to learn more about. Each photo in our gallery below has a caption that describes what you see in the image, but let's just point out that we have here a wood-powered Isuzu Trooper, a 1933 Ford pickup that burns propane and a flex-fuel Ford Escape hybrid. There's also a nice shot of our friend Jory Squibb's Moonbeam. The Green Grand Prix is the only official SCCA Time-Speed-Distance Road Rally for alternate fueled vehicles and hybrids in the United States and takes place on May 3. There's more information in our original post on the race.


[Source: Ericho Communications]

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We met Jory Squibb way back in late 2006 over at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo. How can you miss a guy driving a tiny, 100+mpg bubble car called the Moonbeam? Jory, from Maine, is now back on the ABG radar with his presence at the New York Auto Show. He didn't have a car with him this time, but he did have the idea for a competition vehicle for the Automotive X Prize with him. His new tadpole-style vehicle (that is, two wheels in front, one in back) is called Dirigo, which is the Maine state motto and means "I lead" of "I direct." The Dirigo's powertrain is based on a 950cc Daihatsu turbodiesel engine that sits in the back and drives the front two wheels. Jory told us the Moonbeam taught him that you really need at least half of your wheels providing power (the Moonbeam was also tadpole style, but only driven by the single rear wheel). Jory's team for the Dirigo, which is now a year old, is made up of about four regular members, some of whom are boat builders and are taking the Dirigo in a wooden direction. Learn more by listening to Jory yourself:



UPDATE: Jory sent in a few thoughts on the Auto X Prize at the New York Auto Show. We've pasted his essay after the jump.

"A gallon of gas is a miracle," says Jory Squibb. Unlike most of the other participants at the Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica this weekend, Squibb embraced standard petroleum fuel for his latest project. But, with his long history of making environmentally safe cars, he radically rethought what a car needs to be. The result is the Moonbeam, a microcar made from Honda Elite 150 scooters, one in the rear and two in the front of the dome-shaped car. The scooters and the rest of the material cost him about $2,500. The rest of the cost: about 1,000 hours of work.

Squibb originally considered driving the Moonbeam from Maine to California, but ended up towing it behind his Camry. While he's happy with the car now, the long nights in the garage are not necessarily over. Squibb said that, if battery technology continues to improve the way it has recently, he may convert the Moonbeam to lithium ion batteries in a few years.

For more details than you can shake a stick at, visit Squibb's website about the Moonbeam. And, if you like the video, please vote for it by clicking that little up arrow in the orange circle at the top of the video box. Thanks.

Lastly, a question for AutoblogGreen readers who pay attention to details: does the location of the video above look familiar at all?

While I certainly will be working out in Santa Monica this weekend at the Alt Car Expo, I must admit that I'm also going to enjoy a getting out of the Midwest cold for a few days. I known Santa Monica is no Honolulu, but it'll do.

For now, this post is a bit sparse, but as we report from the Expo this weekend, I will link to all my stories from here (and this introductory text might change). Feel free to bookmark this post (use the "permalink" below for the exact URL) and check back throughout the weekend for updates. We'll have pictures, audio interviews and lots of cool news. Also, if there is a vehicle or a company you'd like more information about (you can see the list of companies attending here), then say so in the comments and I'll do my best to track down that info for you.

Here's are the Alt Car Expo stories so far (updated Thursday, 12/14):

• Alt Car Expo: Video of the Electrum Spyder and interview with the designer, Greg Lane
• Alt Car Expo: Dr. Andy Frank on kicking the oil habit with "no sacrifice in lifestyle"
• Alt Car Expo: Katie Rogers is Carless in L.A.
• Alt Car Expo: Ex-CIA head James Woolsey says Saudi Arabia can't beat PHEVs
• Alt Car Expo: Photo Gallery (includes a bus crashing into a tree)
• Alt Car Expo: Ed Begley and Terry Tamminen on Ending our Addiction to Oil Now
• Alt Car Expo: Brad Hirsch says the Qui Moto not likely to be Myers Motors next car
• Alt Car Expo: More info on Solar Bug, the converted ATV EV
• Alt Car Expo: Feed 400 horsepower with hydrogen, and maybe a cover model will ride along
• Alt Car Expo: Q&A with Plug-In America's Paul Scott
• Alt Car Expo: EV racing in a kit car
• Alt Car Expo: Edwin Black's Internal Combustion LIVE!
• Alt Car Expo: 1980 VW truck becomes a biodiesel Eco Rat Rod
• Alt Car Expo: Electrum Spyder prototype gets mid-show upgrade
• Alt Car Expo: eBox makes public debut
• Alt Car Expo: Electrum Spyder electric roadster unveiled. We've got pictures
• Alt Car Expo: Lee Iacocca gets a present
• Alt Car Expo: Southern California Edison continues PHEV push
• Alt Car Expo: LA biodiesel group "wants" to go out of business
• Alt Car Expo: Solar Bug NEV ready for production
• Alt Car Expo: Movie stuntcar maker builds an electric sprint car for the street? Cool!
• Alt Car Expo: video of the homemade, 100+mpg Moonbeam
• Alt Car Expo: Q&A with Roy Graham on Altairnano batteries, Phoenix electric SUV
• Alt Car Expo: $70,000 Spyder EV teaser video
• Alt Car Expo: Pre-show set-up photos
• Electrum Spyder to be demoed at Santa Monica Alt Car Expo this weekend
• AltCar Expo coming to Santa Monica

The builder of the Moonbeam microcar would like to attend the upcoming Santa Monica AltCarExpo but he is concerned about driving a string of ten 300-mile days at about 40 or 50 mph. Jory Squibb already made a big hit at the Boston Altwheels Festival with his home-built 3-wheeler. The car is based on a Honda Elite 150 scooter and gets 105mpg in city traffic. Squibb says he built the Moonbeam with just over $2,300 in parts and 1,000 manhours. The Moonbeam can seat two and features a tri-position canopy.

I discovered the Moonbeam through an essay from Squibb on The Auto Channel. He's very passionate about the microcar concept and draws much of his inspiration from the Messerschmitt strategy after WWII as well as the 1977 Arola. Squibb's Web site has photos of the buildup and candids from the car's appearances. His latest update on the site expresses concern about driving cross-country as he doesn't want to show off the vehicle's "weakness." He'd rather get a train ride donated and drive from Flagstaff to the to the coast. He's asking for ideas.

[Source: The Auto Channel]