The Dealer Principal of award-winning Mitsubishi dealership Firs Garage in Hook Norton is lending his former school a top-selling plug-in hybrid SUV so that students can learn about its game-changing technology.
Dean Wood, who attended Sibford School in the 1970s, still remembers the school motto ‘Truth and Honour, Freedom and Courtesy’, and this ethos remains core to his business today. Keen to give something back to his former school.
Dean said “The Outlander PHEV is the world’s first plug-in hybrid SUV and has really made the motor industry sit up and take notice. It’s brimful of the technology of the future, so it makes perfect sense that students learn about it.
“The Oxfordshire/ Northants area is known for its strengths in vehicle manufacturing, research and development, Formula 1, and motor sport engineering, so I’m delighted to be able to do this for Sibford School and hopefully inspire the students to learn more about technology, engineering and environmental issues.
Teacher Felicity Dyndor said: “The club will be researching the vehicle, looking at how it runs, especially in EV mode, and considering the impact that the reduced emissions will have.”
Sibford School, which is a co-educational day and boarding school a short distance from Banbury, will have the Outlander PHEV for a prolonged period, during which time it will also be used to promote the green credentials of the school and to supplement the school’s transport pool.
In addition, pupils are to be invited to the dealership, which is just a couple of miles away, to learn more about the Outlander PHEV as well as career opportunities in mechanics, engineering and the motor industry.
Peter Robinson, the school’s Business Manager, said: “We are very grateful to Dean and Firs Garage for the loan of the Outlander. It has really captured the imagination of the students and also created considerable interest amongst our parents, so much so that we are planning to install an EV charging point on the school campus.”
Since its launch last year, the Outlander PHEV has swiftly become the UK’s best-selling plug-in hybrid, with Mitsubishi Motors selling 10,000 of them by the end of March 2015.
Newspress
