Motoring enthusiasts given a glimpse of the future at Shepparton

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lap Tomorrow gave motoring enthusiasts a glimpse of the future at yesterday’s Rotary Motor Show and Market Day in Shepparton.

Just a part of the Slap Tomorrow
 alternatively fuelled vehicles stand at
 yesterday's Rotary Motor Show and 
 Market Day at Shepparton's Driver
 Education Centre (DECA).

The star of the group’s display was the brilliant white Tesla SS brought to Shepparton by the proud owner, Francis Reeves, of Wangaratta.

With him in her car was Frank’s wife Meg, who added a something extra with her Mitsubishi MEIV, another all-electric car.

Both Frank and Meg had their cars open to the public allowing people to look at, try the driving position and willingly and happily answered similar questions over and over again.

Taking the electric theme even further we two registration and license-free scooters from Puri, one of which was sold on the day, and an electric race car produced by students from the Swinburne Institute of Technology in extra-curricular activities.

The small race car that can reach 200km/h, but is governed to less than that, has many sponsors, among them Shepparton’s Betroli Farm Machinery and the insurance brokers, Griffiths Goodall.

 

Adding to the show was a near new Holden Volt, known for its remarkable range.

Also on show was a truck from the Shepparton-based Gouge Dry Cleaners that is powered by compressed natural gas, produced on its own site in Mooroopna.

The power of bio-diesel was also demonstrated with an illustration of how the process begins with the grinding of mustard seeds.

Concern about the use of valuable agricultural land for growing such things as mustard seed used only for bio-diesel were discounted as those areas used for regular cropping need a “break crop” to revitalise the soil, and mustard seed, and similar crops are ideal for that purpose.

The Tesla shown at yesterday’s Rotary event at DECA was most impressive – it looked wonderful and stylish, it had a boot where you normally find a motor, it had an even more commodious boot at the rear, a motor somewhere under your feet, a range of 500km, and acceleration that would have shaded all those other conventional cars on show, and there were some pretty impressive “muscle cars” among the exhibits.

Tesla is about to establish charging points between Melbourne and Brisbane and Frank said that after 500km and the time it takes to have a coffee, you can be back on the road full charged.