Thursday morning, I departed from Boucherville with Marie. Destination: Ottawa. It took a couple hours to get through Montreal. It was ‘car free day’. Nevermind ‘day’, how about just ‘car free’?

I had to race to make 10 am in Ottawa. I was meeting John Neufeld and Brian Bond who work with the Advanced Technology Vehicles Program. Upon arrival, I had a chance to see the smart forfour cdi and take it for a drive. More on that later.

After grabbing a Tim Horton’s coffee, the three of us went to the Canada Science and Technology Museum. There we were met by Garth Wilson, Curator, and Maureen McEvoy, Director - Public Affairs. I was treated to a vry interesting tour of the More Than A Machine: Motor Vehicles in Canada, 1900-1930 exhibit. One interesting piece was this 1910 Baker ‘Electric Runabout’:

After viewing the exhibit, we were taken to a nearby museum warehouse to see the undisputed oldest car in Canada. I had a chance to drive the Audi A2, and let Garth Wilson take my car, since he’d never driven a smart. Truth be known, Garth is a One-Tonne Challenge champ since he rides a bike mostly, and doesn’t even own a car. While at the warehouse, I had a discussion with Garth about the processes and activities that go into creating a remarkable museum inventory.

Once we finished at the museum warehouse, Brian, John and I went to the University of Ottawa in our three diesel cars. There we took part in the ‘car free day’ event and answered questions. I gave out some One-Tonne Challenge t-shirts and brochures. A live DJ was there, and I did two short interviews over the loudspeakers.

Once it neared 3 pm, and Brian had already departed, John and I went to a local gas station that sells biodiesel. There I filled up ASTM certified B20.

Folks were quite interested to talk to us about our cars. Once we finished that, we went back to the ATVP facility, and I had a chance to do some more looking around at the inventory.