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Article: Driving Miss Purity.(hybrid electric car built by Canadians)(co-winner of 1970 Clean Air Car Race)(current status of alternative energy cars)
- Article from:
- The Beaver: Exploring Canada's History
- Article date:
- December 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Canada's National History Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Controversy around air pollution issues swirled last year as Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol. But this wasn't the first time gasoline emissions and the environment had been a concern. The problem was addressed by the Clean Air Car Race in 1970, at which one Canadian entry did more than turn a few heads.
Popping flashbulbs and jostling journalists greeted Miss Purity, a Canadian custom-built car, at the finish of the Clean Air Car Race at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in Pasadena, California, on August 30, 1970. The Rose Bowl Queen, in attendance for the occasion, immediately handed Douglas Venn, the car's driver, her signature flower. He ...