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A group of US teenagers at risk of failing high school have modified a 1967 Karmann Ghia to run -- electrically – on the ‘social fuel’ of tweets, likes and follows.
The students are part of a Kansas City mentoring program called Minddrive for teens at risk of failing high school. The after-school program sees them work with mentors on car projects designed to get them keen to learn.
The team of 20 students will drive their car from Kansas City to Washington, with the vehicle moving only when its system detects buzz about it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
The social fuel plan is part of Minddrive’s communications component, which each year mentors the students in writing, photographing and filming the projects they work on – this year seeing that work promoting the project on social media.
The Karmann Ghia will roll forward when it detects the hashtag #MINDDRIVE or tweets about @minddriveorg on Twitter, likes and shares on Facebook, video plays on YouTube and follows on Instagram.
This is the third electric car project by Minddrive students, with previous years having seen a chain-drive electric system fitted to a Reynard Champ Car and a 1977 Lotus Esprit – although for the Karmann Ghia the chain-drive has been replaced by a system that sends drive through the transaxle.
This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott
