Blogger Peter Tan might be very interested in this. While the rest of the automotive industry is focusing on applying fuel cell technology on cars, Suzuki is applying the technology in the powered wheelchair market – and its latest prototype, the MIO, features a fuel cell that uses methanol as a fuel source to generate hydrogen and therefore electricity, which is then stored in a Li-ion battery which also acts as a backup power storage.
The Suzuki MIO has a 4 litre tank that gives it a range of approximately 25 miles. Theres also an LCD display showing fuel level and power sources. Therefore, unlike wheelchairs that rely solely on mains charging of the battery, it addresses users fears of being stranded at some distance from their home.
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In Msia, the plight of the less fortunate is not fully look into, making essential items for the handicapped less mobile. Cars outfitted with special seats which could be fully imported were given less attention, and requires much hassles and red-tapes from the G.
Perodua have a model called Kelisa Kasih, which featured a motorized-mechanical car seat for easier getting in and out of the car. But the model hardly takes off as the price of such cars is not cheap, and its beyond the handicappeds' earning. In my opinion, more tax incentives should be provided to this group of society so that they could be mobile enough to go out and find a living to sustain themselves.
For such cars, its considered an exotic car, thus, the exotic price.
Cire, you are right. Maybe our car producers & assemblers can find some of these vehicles from manufacturers, import them, get our G to take away the taxes and rebagded them and make it a National car for the special people of Malaysia ! Don't wait for RMK10 or 11….. or 2020. Thanks Cire for bring this up.
Very interesting Paul, thank you. This vehicle will only be suitable in Malaysia if there are accessible walkways. At the moment, there is not enough interconnecting walkways to the places that we want to go which makes the Suzuki MIO as useless as the Rapid KL buses. But we have to hand it to the Japanese. They are in the forefront in the assistive technology field.
actually our local inventor already come out many thing like this for handicapped or old people use . I still remember our final project in UiTM (1995) also design something like this and its works..but nobody want to take action or give encouragement for local inventors to develope it…malaysian attituted.. .sigh…
……….rebadger stars peeking…
Malaysia has not matured enough to tend to the rights and needs of handicapped people.
There are concrete laws that require proper access to be built (ie. washroom, wheelchair ramps, minimum disabled parking lots, even placements of buttons on elevators, and light switches) as for other North American or European societies. Some newer building have them, most dont.
We still have the mental handicap of looking at the handicapped people that they no longer able to contribute to society so they are largely left ignored. We also have social services programs that may help.
However, our society is not philantrophic enough (not discounting those that give a lot back to society). Most will probably vote no, if to provide these services, we see our income taxes double (which is still low….).
This is assuming we can trust the gov't to handle the $ and not leech it off somewhere else.
In north america, we see not only handicapped people, but also older folks pottering around town on their electric "scooters" just like the one in the picture. But we do have very good paved sidewalks and access to all public and private buildings. Infrastructure that we are sorely lacking.
SPOT ON 4G,
should design a brute scooter that suit to this HOSTILE ENVIROMENT,
wheel chair ?
does it hav anything to do wif automotive ?