Thousands of people visited the six Tour de Sol festivals held during National Transportation Week, May 12-18. Festivals included food; entertainment; two dozen student-built vehicles; test-drives in hybrid vehicles on the market; pre-production prototypes; bike, lawnmower, and scooter displays; exhibits of green electricity, clean air programs and much more.

The 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid – Honda’s second gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle on sale nationwide – made its official U.S. on-road debut as the pace car of the 2002 Tour de Sol.

Michael Tebo and the Honda hybrid vehicles were the center of much attention all week. NESEA presented Michael with a "Hero of the Tour de Sol" for his commitment to encouraging young people to follow their dreams in designing and building environmentally-friendly vehicles.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman visits with Ollie Perry, one of the many teachers of student teams participating in the Tour de Sol.

Administrator Whitman arrived at the Tour de Sol on a bicycle, demonstrating one of the many environmentally-friendly choices available to commuters, and spoke at the Starting Ceremonies in Washington, DC.

Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters visits with students participating in model solar car competition at the Washington, DC Tour de Sol.

Administrator Peters talks with Kirk Shore and learns about Advanced Vehicle System’s hybrid bus. She also drove DaimlerChrysler’s neighborhood electric vehicle, visited with other manufacturers of hybrid buses and cars before speaking at the Tour de Sol Starting Ceremonies.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18 entered two electric scooters built by Personal Electric Transports. The UNEP participated because they see the Tour de Sol as "making an invaluable contribution to the discussion about a sustainable future."

Their scooter, which was a magnet for students on field trips, took the "Greenest Vehicle" award for being the most fuel efficient vehicle with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions.

DaimlerChrysler’s prototype fuel cell vehicle, the Town and Country Natrium, attracted thousands of visitors. The van uses a Ballard fuel cell, and unique a unique hydrogen storage system by New Jersey’s Millennium Cell.

DaimlerChrysler’s GEM neighborhood electric vehicle continued to be a great draw.

A bicyclist demonstrates how to use bike racks on Philadelphia area buses. The virtues of bicycles and buses were demonstrated at all the Tour de Sol festivals this year.

Exhibits about clean air programs, such as the one above by the Maryland Department of the Environment, were popular among festival attendees.

Bob Stratton, Toyota Prius owner from Tulsa, OK, tied for the Greenest Vehicle award for production light-duty vehicles with an average of 55.2 miles per gallon, and carbon dioxide emissions 55% less than the average new car on the road today.

The Driven to Work team, tied for the Greenest Vehicle award for production light-duty vehicles in a Honda Insight. The team rented the Insight from Budget Rent-a-Car to make the point that anyone can rent and drive an environmentally-friendly car.

In the Prototype Division the prize for greenest light duty vehicle went to West Philadelphia (PA) High School whose battery-electric Saturn achieved the equivalent of 180 miles per gallon and a carbon dioxide emissions reduction of nearly 80%.

Team New England captured the efficiency award for the most efficient vehicle per passenger in their electric GeoMetro. Assuming a passenger load of three (the driver plus half of the remaining seats) Team New England demonstrated a per passenger efficiency of the equivalent of 504 miles per gallon, double that of the scooter! They also came in second in the prototype battery-electric vehicle category.

Tom Balon measures the energy use, a critical aspect of the scoring system implemented by Ensco, Inc. of the winning prototype hybrid team from the University of Tulsa. The Tulsa team also captured a $1,000 prize offered by the Renewable Fuels Association for the best vehicle using ethanol.

The West Philadelphia High School team took 2nd place with the Soljourner 2, which is a biodiesel-electric hybrid. Above, the team poses with State Representatives Bard and Vitali, and the team’s advisor Simon Hauger. NESEA presented Simon with the George Bradford Electric Vehicle Teacher Award this year. The team also took first place in the prototype battery-electric category.

Seth and Mark Murray, a father and son team from Maine, turned an accident into a heartening lesson for all of us. After being rear-ended by a truck traveling 60 mph on a 35 mph road, all Tour de Sol entrants worked to help them get their vehicle back on the road and into the rally. They received the NESEA safety award for the construction and placement of their battery box and other details, which kept them safe during the accident, and enabled them to repair their battery-electric vehicle.

Cinnaminson High School’s "Pirates" took third place in the prototype battery-electric vehicle (BEV) category. This is their fourth year with the Tour de Sol.

Drew Gaylo and team show off their BEV in Washington, DC, which captured fourth place. Drew’s high school hosted the Tour de Sol in New Jersey.

Kate Skelly shows off a hydrogen-powered robot in front to Eco Living Fellowships fuel cell vehicle. In addition to their unique vehicle, the only one to run in the Hydrogen category this year, the team brought a wonderful display which showed how hydrogen can be generated from water using electricity made from the solar panels to the right.

After an incredibly close race two rival high schools tie for first place in the Solar one-person vehicle category. Above, West Irondequoit High School crosses the finish line.

Cato-Meridian’s SunPacer, which shares the honors with the W. Irondequoit High School, continues to be a great draw among young people taking a field trip to the Tour de Sol.

In Philadelphia there were so many great exhibits that highlighted the alternatives to driving a car in the city. This one showcased electric bicycles.

Students on a field trip ask questions of other students who brought their Electrathon vehicles to the Sandy Point State Park Tour de Sol Festival.

Larry Jarboe from The Center for Chesapeake Communities was with us for the whole week showcasing electric lawnmowers, scooters, and solar power with a patriotic flare.

Brian Fitzek and Teri Kranefield with the American Lung Association of MD smile for the camera on this perfectly sunny day at Sandy Point State Park, MD. They swooned kids to their booth with lollipops but were able to capture their attention by using ozone alert cards.

Eric Chueng with the Clean Air Council also is the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Coordinator and was a Philadelphia Local Organizing Committee member. Here he poses next to an electric Toyota Rav 4 that they were able to use for their exhibit thanks to PECO Energy Company.

Clay Turnbull, photographer par excellence, and long-time volunteer accepts NESEA’s Volunteer of the Year award.

Volunteers Barbara Gillett and Ellen Wenis help Tour de Sol rally participants with tech testing and scoring. Over three hundred volunteers contributed to the planning, implementation and overall success of the Tour.

Ensco, Inc. staff takes a break at the finish line. Ensco, Inc. is the official scoring sponsor of the Tour de Sol. A partnership between Ensco, AirLink, and Verizon greatly enabled us to put GPS units on all the participating vehicles. This improved our scoring system, and made it possible for thousands of people to follow the Tour de Sol rally in real-time!

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Hess (center) and Representative Ellen Bard (right) visit with John Wright of the Millersville University team.

PianoPeddler.com entertains festival-goers with his electric keyboard mounted on an electric bike.