Canadian racing legend Paul Tracy with the modified Honda Civic Si he drove for his leg of the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay in his hometown of Scarborough, Ontario. Tracy is one of 7,000 difference makers that will walk, wheel or run the official Rick Hansen Medal in a cross-country journey powered by a 14-vehicle fleet provided by Honda Canada.
HONDA CANADA - As the Official Vehicle Supplier of the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay, Honda is providing a fleet of vehicles to transport relay participants and staff in their 12,000-kilometre, nine-month trek across the country. The 14-vehicle fleet consists of new Honda and Acura vehicles, including four Acura MDXs, six Honda Pilots, one Honda Ridgeline, and three special Honda Odysseys that are retrofit to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs. Honda is also providing access to its service facilities across the country for ongoing vehicle maintenance.
"The Relay simply would not be possible without Honda," said Rick Hansen. "The fleet of Honda and Acura vehicles is critical to our operations as we journey through 600 communities across Canada."This journey is celebrating the strides we've taken in making the world more accessible and the future where anything is possible."
Honda has always had a focus on mobility solutions, not only through its cars, trucks and motorcycles, but also through innovations designed to make the world more accessible like the company's ASIMO robot, Stride Management Assist, and Bodyweight Support Assist.
"We're thrilled to help power this journey," said Jean-Marc Leclerc, assistant vice president of Marketing, Honda Canada Inc. "Honda is proud to be a mobility company, and the 25th Anniversary Relay, commemorating such an inspirational, iconic Canadian hero - for persons with all abilities, aligns perfectly with our company philosophy and direction."
The Honda and Acura vehicles will be on route for the duration of the Relay, as the convoy retraces the Canadian leg of Rick Hansen's original "Man In Motion World Tour" in 1986, coincidentally the same year Honda started manufacturing cars in Canada.
Running until May 22, 2012, guests at the Relay's end of day celebrations in each community can enter the Rick Hansen Mobility dream contest offered by Honda Canada and the Rick Hansen Foundation. Users are invited to submit their "mobility dream" through the iPad application available onsite, and one lucky winner will have their dream realized by way of a $20,000 donation from Honda to the Foundation.
To find out more about Honda's role in the relay, check out Honda Canada's Facebook page, the company's Twitter account and Honda.ca
For more information on the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay, go to http://www.rickhansenrelay.com. Honda has two walking assist prototypes that are currently being tested, our Stride Management Assist device and our Bodyweight Support Assist device.
Our main focus is and always has been human mobility. And innovation is our engine.
With the goal of assisting people with limited mobility, Honda scientists and engineers spent two decades developing a robot that would become ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility).
Today, ASIMO is the world's most advanced humanoid robot with the ability to walk, run, climb stairs and carry objects. ASIMO can even respond to voice commands and recognize faces. In the future, Honda hopes that ASIMO will be able to assist people with limited mobility or perform tasks dangerous to humans.