July 3, 2008 - SolarTaxi - the offical start of the North American tour! The SolarTaxi arrived from Switzerland via 32 countries and 32,000 kms (thus far) of roads in Europe, the Middle East and Asia! The 1400-pound vehicle with attached solar trailer runs 100% on Q-cell Solar Panels and Zebra Sodium Nickel Chloride (molten-carbonate) batteries which have a higher energy density than lithium! The car's average speed is 65 kph and has enough battery onboard to run 300 km on cloudy days or at night. SolarTaxi headed up the VEVA entry in the annual July 1st North Shore Parade and was on display at Waterfront Park near Lonsdale Quay later on in the day. On Thursday July 3rd, SolarTaxi received a grand sendoff for its North American tour with stops at Canada Place, Transport Canada on Burrard Street downtown and Telus Science World, escorted by VEVA's EVs and police motorcycles. Here is a 360 degree pan shot of the event where Loius Palmer is speaking. It shows our beloved REV!2004 site taken over by construction cranes -- it will become the 2010 Olympic Village!