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US Military Hybrid Chariot In Development May 2005American Chariot Company announced today that is has shipped 24 of its Special Applications Series Chariots to the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center (NAC) for deployment to Iraq with the XVII Airborne Corps' 1st COSCOM, based in Ft. Bragg, NC. The Chariot is a zero-emission, all-electric, three-wheeled personal transportation vehicle."American Chariot is very excited to be able to help the war effort through the deployment of our Chariots," said David Joseph Lacagnina, president and CEO of American Chariot. "We've been hearing so much lately about the critical shortage of armored Humvees (HMMWVs). Our Chariots will enable individual soldiers to move around bases quickly and efficiently, and free up the Army's workhorse HMMWVs to be used off-base, where they are urgently needed to protect the troops." Hal Almand, Team Leader for R&D of Light Platforms at the Army's Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center's National Automotive Center (NAC), explained, "We've been working with American Chariot for two years on modifications to their commercial vehicle so that the Chariot can fulfill a non-tactical military mission. Much of the transportation needs around bases involves moving a single soldier -- the Army doesn't really need to use HMMWVs to do that, if we have alternatives. Because the Army can buy at least 15 Chariots for the price of one HMMWV, this looks like a vehicle that can fill a critical need, save tax dollars, and free up tactical vehicles for more pressing business. This deployment, and others we are hoping to make in the coming year, will provide additional data and allow us to fine-tune the vehicle's features to best serve the military's needs. While this deployment involves the all-electric Chariot, we're also working with the company on the development of a hybrid vehicle with even greater range and expanded capabilities." The American Chariot Special Application Series, a variation on the versatile Chariot platform, is designed to provide dynamic and durable personal mobility options for the armed services and government agencies. Because of its three-wheeled configuration, the Chariot provides greater flexibility, carrying capacity and reliability than other personal transportation vehicles on the market. "The chariot has been around since 2,500 B.C., and used in countless battles before other inventions made it obsolete. The irony is that thousands of years after chariots' initial military use, our Chariot has found its way back into the American military with a use that's both practical and extremely cost-effective," said Joseph. SOURCE: Rubber Magazine | ||
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