Where in the World is Westport WiNG – Roadtrip Highlights

From May 21-24 three Westporters embarked on an epic road trip from Detroit to New York in the bi-fuel Ford F250 using only the CNG tank.

The WiNG Road Trip Crew’s t-shirts show all the stops on the trip

The Crew, consisting of John, Nicole and Alissa, made various stops along the way to show off the truck and allow people to take it for a test drive. They travelled through thunderstorms and crossed rainbows. Here’s some highlights:

From left to right, John H., Nicole, Alissa and Arnie C.

Bright and early at 7 am the four adventurers receive a warm farewell in Plymouth. Theirfirst stop? Starbucks.. er, Cleveland. John, who arrived on a red eye flight from the west coast only an hour earlier, demonstrated how comfortable the cab is by taking a long nap on the first leg of the drive.

Alissa was the first behind the wheel, here’s what she had to say about driving the bi-fuel Ford F250 for the first time:

When her turn driving was up, she was sad!

The crew arrived in Cleveland and headed straight to Valley Ford Truck Sales where they hosted a BBQ and encouraged people to stop by and take the truck for a test spin. They had lots of interest and loved showing off the truck.

 John Howell talks about the WiNG™ bi-fuel system

Huge turnout of folks at Valley Ford in Cleveland enjoying their BBQ

The crew headed off to their next stop in Canton Ohio, and had the chance to do their first CNG fuel-up. John’s excited about the $40 fill-up:

The group loved how inexpensive it was to fill the truck with CNG, with the CNG tank alone taking them another 300 miles before needing to re-fuel again.

While refueling they noticed that at the end of the rainbow, instead of a pot of gold, there was a WiNG™-powered Ford F250

The crew headed off to Pittsburgh, where they hosted another BBQ at Allegheny Ford and showed off the truck to visitors.

They spoke with Rick Price of Pittsburgh Clean Cities about the benefits of natural gas vehicles:

They left Pittsburgh and headed to Pottstown, where they weathered a massive thunderstorm that left a lot of other vehicles pulled over on the side of the highway:

On their way to Pottstown their GPS lead them astray, taking them through the Valley Forge historic site.

At Pottstown they stopped at John Kennedy Ford, their final stop before heading to the big apple. Another delicious BBQ, and more people interested in the bi-fuel truck!

It’s here that the Road Trip met the first WiNG™-powered Ford F250 owner, Ken Gibson
.

The crew arrived safe and sound in New York, and began setting up in Times Square for their final show-off of the truck, albeit in the pouring rain.

Nicole is happy to have obtained permission from the NYPD to park the F250 in Times Square.

The rain subsided and the crew had one final task to mark the end of their journey: ring the closing bell at NASDAQ. They changed out of their Road Trip Crew shirts and headed over to join the rest of the Westport team that was in NYC for the 2012 Analyst’s Day. The whole team was part of the bell-ringing ceremony, marking the end of business for the day, and the end of the Where in the World is Westport Wing? RoadTrip. The team thanks to everyone who came out to see them along the way.

Westport CEO David Demers

Where in the World is Westport WiNG? Driver Profiles

Three Westport employees take to the road on May 21st driving the bi-fuel Ford F250 equipped with a Westport WiNG power system from Detroit to NYC using only its compressed natural gas (CNG) tank.
Here's a little more about our road trip crew:

John

John's role leading marketing and business development for Westport LD has his main focus right now on the Westport WiNG power system featured in Ford F250 and F350 bi-fuel trucks launching this spring. He's leaving his car parked at home for a week to drive one of the Ford F250 bi-fuel trucks equipped with the Westport WiNG power system from Detroit to NYC using only the CNG tank.
With over 30 years in the automotive industry, marketing globally, John clearly enjoys working in the sector. He is especially interested now in the transformation of the industry from purely petroleum-based to alternative fueled cars.
When at home, John keeps busy cooking, celebrating, golfing, hunting and working in his workshop. Group dinners are frequently on his calendar with his family, his huge extended family or friends.

Nicole

Nicole’s leaving her walking shoes (her usual mode of transport) and hitting the road driving the bi-fuel Ford F250 equipped with the Westport WiNG power system from Detroit to NYC using only compressed natural gas (CNG). As a communications professional for Westport, Nicole finds herself in all sorts of places talking to various stakeholders, but this week’s road trip will be her first at Westport.
Nicole enjoys trying new restaurants (pizza is a favourite!), spending time with her family and watching The Amazing Race while eating popcorn. No TV required this week; she’s on a Westport WiNG amazing race of her own!

Alissa

Alissa wears many hats in her role as executive assistant, coordinating and attending marketing and sales events at Westport LD. Parking her SUV at home, Alissa is excited to drive Detroit to NYC behind the wheel of the bi-fuel Ford F250 pickup equipped with the Westport WiNG power system – using only the compressed natural gas (CNG) tank.
Spending much of her time outside of work with her husband and her pets, Alissa also keeps in touch with her mom now living on the other side of the country. Otherwise Alissa can be found, as she puts it, “…escaping reality with a good book, movie or television show.” And dark chocolate is probably involved too.

Where in the World is Westport WiNG?

The buzz you’ve seen on twitter is true: we’re taking it to the open roads! From May 21-24 our team will be driving a Ford F-250 Super Duty bi-fuel pick-up featuring the Westport WiNG™ Power System from Detroit to New York, running entirely on compressed natural gas (CNG).

Why, you ask? Our team needs to be in New York City for the Westport Innovations annual Investors’ Day on May 24; but instead of flying there, we see this as the perfect opportunity to showcase the WiNG-powered Ford F250, and meet our friends and fans along the way. We’ve planned stops along the route where you can come visit us, learn more about the bi-fuel truck, and even give it a test drive! Since Westport will start delivery of the trucks later this year, this will be the first opportunity for many people to see and drive the truck. This isn’t just about showing off the truck, though, it’s also about promoting the use of CNG as a vehicle fuel. By driving the entire route on CNG we hope to demonstrate how easy (with a bit of planning) and affordable it is to use as an alternative to gasoline.

Throughout the 700 mile journey our road trip crew will be documenting their experience driving the super duty bi-fuel pick-up. The three Westporters who will be taking turns behind the wheel are Nicole Adams, Alissa Marczewski, neither of whom has ever driven the truck before, and John Howell. They’ll be recording the entire experience on video, giving our blog readers, Facebook fans and Twitter followers the chance to see first-hand what it’s like to drive a bi-fuel truck for the first time (so we expect to see some shaky video at the start!). Their video diaries will not only record their impressions and experiences along the way, they will also demonstrate the capabilities of the truck and how easy it is to fuel up with CNG. In addition to video, the team will be sharing photos and Tweeting throughout the trip.

Want to come say hello? Here’s where we’ll be stopping:

• Valley Ford Truck Sales, Cleveland OH – May 21 from noon to 3 p.m.
• SARTA-Clean Energy, Canton OH – May 21 from 4 to 5 p.m.
• Allegheny Ford Truck Sales, Pittsburgh PA – May 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• John Kennedy Ford, Pottstown PA – May 23 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Times Square, New York City, NY – May 24 from 1 to 5 p.m.

If you’re planning on visiting Nicole, Alissa and John at any of these stops, please RSVP to media@westport.com so they know who to expect (and so we can order enough barbecue, too!).

Stay tuned as we share more about our road trip crew and updates from the road starting at 8 a.m. on May 21st!