Thais win econo-car contest
Chatchai Damkham, 18, shows off his team’s innovative fuel-efficient car at Seacon Square
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A team of Thai engineering students won a contest to design the most fuel-efficient car in Japan on Sunday.
The innovative vehicle developed by students from the Army Transportation Engineering School won first prize in the New Challenge category at the Soichiro Honda Cup Econo Contest 2006. The vehicle, driven by Chatchai Damkham, the team's mechanic, achieved a fuel economy rate of 2,270 kilometres per litre. It also took the first-runner up prize in the overall competition. The Thai team was one of only two foreign teams competing along with about 490 Japanese teams. The other foreign team was a group of Chinese engineering students. Unfortunately, the Thais achieved a better result in the rehearsal round than in the actual race. Colonel Pichai Pholpantin, headmaster of the Army Transportation Engineering School, said Chatchai was a last-minute substitute as driver and had only one day to prepare for the race after the team's main driver was forced out due to an accident. "I am so pleased with this result as it shows our team's efficiency. We also got a lot of positive feedback from the Japanese," Pichai said. The teacher believed the team would do even better in the next contest.
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