Team-BHP - Jeepneys! A work of Art on Wheels

The History behind it
These piece of beauties are so much blended into Filipino culture that it symbolises that country. It all started just after the WW2 when Americans (and Russians for that matter) who has the habit of littering the world wherever they go, left lot of Jeeps back, as cost of taking them back was an expenive affair and waste of Carriers's precious real estate.
Local Fillipino stripped them down, elongated the chasis added metal roofs to accomodate multiple passengers. Thats not all, to stand out in crowd they decorated the vehicles with vibrant colors and bright chrome hood ornaments. In comming year, they became such a hot and most desirable means of public transport that everybody was making them, So even Government had to intervene and put a cap on their ownership and use. The driver/owner had to obtain special license, route permit and were allowed a fixed fare set by the government. All in all after over six decades they have become a symbol of Philippine culture.

The Vehicle/Technology.
First Generation Jeepneys were refurbished WWII Willys or Ford GPW. SOme of them even had airconditioning. The engine were reconditioned Jap diesel engines manufactured by Isuzu or Mitsubishi bought at scarpyard. Later Generation jeepneys are produced by independently owned workshops and factories within the Philippines. The bulk of jeepneys are built from second-hand medium load Japanese trucks. Some of them uses brand new engine components from manufacturer.

Recent developments- E-Jeepneys
The jeepney industry has evolved more quickly in the past 2 years than it has in the past 50 years. Many local manufacturers are moving to build more modern-looking jeepneys such as Hummer lookalikes and oversized Toyota van-style passenger jeepneys with Toyota headlights, hoods and bumpers. Some of them even resembles Honda CR-V or the Toyota Tamaraw. These are equipped with state-of-the-art vehicle technology like brand-new engine and drivetrain and uses Thermo-King-brand airconditioning uses in large busses.
Greenpeace initated a project sometime in July 2007 to launch electric powered Jeepneys. They started with two proyotype E-Jeepneys manufactured by a Chinese company and later 4 were launched last year (2008). The vehicles can be charged by plugging into an electric socket, using power from biodegradable waste.The later e-jeepneys were made by the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP). The E-jeepney carries 17 passengers and can run 120 km on an 8-hour charge from an electric outlet. The maximum legal speed of these vehicle are 40 kmph.

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