Nov 19 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Andrew Moore The Bulletin, Bend, Ore.

HumanCar, a Seattle company that would like to build a factory in Central Oregon to produce 3,000 human-powered hybrid cars a year, is scheduled to be featured in the inaugural episode of the television show "Invention Nation," which premieres tonight on The Science Channel.

According to an official with HumanCar, the company is building prototypes of a zero-emissions car that uses a push-pull hand mechanism -- think of the railroad handcars of old -- and regenerative braking to provide power to batteries that drive dual electric motors.

It's no sweat, though, says Chuck Greenwood, the company's Bend-based marketing executive. The mechanism can be used by 7- to 70-year-olds and locks down once a sufficient charge is built up.

The vehicle is made of aluminum and carbon fiber, weighs 400 pounds, can seat four passengers and will cost $15,000.

But it will only be legal in Oregon on streets with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.

Greenwood said the car is a neighborhood electric vehicle and uses a proprietary technology to turn "oscillatory motion into rotational motion."

"This is something that has never been created before," according to Greenwood.

Global Electric Motorcars, a division of Chrysler LLC, manufactures battery-powered NEVs.

The nearest dealership to Bend, in Yakima, Wash., charges $9,000 for its base model.

Greenwood hopes exposure from the television show will help generate buzz for his company as well as sales. HumanCar is taking pre-orders for its newest model, the Imagine. Once the company books 100 pre-orders, Greenwood said it will pursue financing to build a factory that could employ 100 workers. The company currently manufactures its prototypes at its research facility near Ashland.

Greenwood said the company likes Central Oregon because the region has an employee base already familiar with composite technology, thanks to manufacturers such as Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corp., Epic Aircraft and Sea-swirl Boats Inc., which relocated to Minnesota earlier this year.

Greenwood also thinks the region comprises its ideal market.

"The market here is progressive, media-savvy, environment-savvy and willing to take risks," he said.

The downside would be the logistical effort required to bring in raw material, he added.

Greenwood said the company plans to debut its Imagine model on Earth Day, April 22, in Menlo Park, Calif.

Guy Coleman, a Bend resident who heard Greenwood discuss HumanCar at Economic Development for Central Oregon's monthly PubTalk last Thursday at McMenamins Old St. Francis School, said he was impressed with the concept. He likes the company's attempt to crack sustainable transportation.

Coleman, though, is reserving final judgment until he can test-drive one.

"I'd have to touch it, see it, feel it to know," Coleman said.

For more information, visit the company's Web site, www.humancar.com , or check out videos of a prototype of the HumanCar online at YouTube.