The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) concluded its Brighton-to-London Eco-Run tour across southern Ontario in bright sunshine as the participating cars and journalists pulled into Fanshawe College in London, Ont.
The event began in Brighton, Ont. making stops in Cobourg, Oshawa, Scarborough, Toronto and Oakville before spending a night at McMaster University in Hamilton.
AJAC organized the Eco-Run as a mobile demonstration of fuel-efficient and fuel-alternative technologies that are or soon will be available to consumers.
The final day started at the McMaster Faculty Club where the 23 AJAC journalists driving the cars on the tour learned about MacAuto — a multi-disciplinary education, research and development initiative focused on the automotive industry and the car of the future.
The city of Woodstock, where journalists stopped for lunch, almost literally rolled out the red carpet to greet the arriving participants. Not only did the mayor hold a press conference to welcome the guests, they closed a street and set up a temporary electrical service so drivers could recharge the six electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids that were part of the program.
Arriving in convoy at Fanshawe College to end the tour, participants were again given the royal treatment by faculty, students and local media, as well as a number of dignitaries.
As was the case at the other key stops, AJAC’s journalists found fresh story material in the college’s recently-built Centre for Applied Transportation Technologies, which is itself a model of sustainable building design.
Speaking at the wrap-up press conference there, on behalf of the federal government, local MP Ed Holder announced the launch of the Third Generation AutoSmart Driver Education Kit, which helps driving instructors teach students about fuel-efficient driving techniques.
The federal government, through Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), is a key partner in support of the Eco-Run, along with the CAA and Schneider Electric.
On the event’s first day, Yves Madore of NRCan challenged AJAC’s journalist drivers to adopt fuel-efficient driving techniques and try to equal or surpass the fuel-consumption rating figures for the individual vehicles.
Perhaps surprising even seasoned automotive journalists, they did. Madore reported that on some driving stages as many as 80 percent of the vehicle/driver combinations achieved that goal, and every vehicle did so on at least one or more stages.
The London-to-Brighton Eco-Run was a new venture for AJAC, taking the message of fuel-efficiency to the community level.
