Kenguru: Drive-In Car for Wheelchairs

I know, what a great idea/weird idea, right?

Funny thing is, I’ve seen a convertible version of this kind of, uh, conveyance …

For those of you that don’t know, I lived on The North Shore for three years. One day, I’m out walking through my neighborhood, and I go down this street that’s in back of an apartment building. You know, one of those 50 unit sized, concrete filing cabinets for people. This one looked to have been built about two years before Hawaii 5-0 was canceled, in one of the seemingly endless real estate cycles that pound the Islands on a regular basis.

There’s a big, dilapidated, outdoor parking lot, blacktop all shriveled after 30 years of salt, 80 Deg. near-equatorial sun, and drenching tropical rain. (Seriously, I don’t know what man-made material can survive for long in that environment.) It’s about two-thirds full, and the majority of the cars there will be dissolved into nothing within 2 years, tops.

I look closer to see whats there, and right in the middle of the parking lot was cross between a golf cart and one of those customized Harley trikes you see at places like Daytona and Sturgis and law firm sponsored ride for tots events. It was a faded blue metalflake with powder blue pin-striping, but instead of a seat, there was a very low floored area not unlike a slammed T-Bucket. At the very rear, there was a tailgate that was down like a loading ramp.

OK, this I’ve got to take a closer look at.

When I get within five feet of it, it all comes into focus: It’s a wheelchair ride.

You could see where the driver could roll up the tailgate, into the driving position, and then to their right, there was a red lever hooked to a bell crank to raise and lock the tail gate/loading ramp in place. In front of the already-seated driver, there was a set of bike bars, which already have hand controls in place.

The thing even had a cup holder.

Genius.

Somewhere up there, in that concrete box that looks out over sea is a person in a wheel chair. And if they want to, they can head out, get into their wheelchair buggy thingo, go down the road, get a shave ice, check out the view from Ali’i Beach,hang out with some friends, get some dinner, and then head home.

Life could be worse.

Ku mai! Ku mai! Ka nalu nui mai Kahiki mai,
Alo poi pu! Ku mai ka po hoehue,
Hu! Kaiko’o loa

Arise! Arise, ye great surfs from Kahiki,
The powerful curling waves.
Arise with po hoehue
Well up, long raging surf

Filed Under: Car News