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"Wander through the paddock at any race track, and you&amp;#039;ll find some interesting pit vehicles. They&amp;#039;re monuments to ingenuity and mechanical creativity, custom-tailored to the needs of the race car they support, as well as the capacity of the trailer that hauls them.  As ridiculous as it sounds, Mazda media relations needs, in many respects, mirror that of a race team (and not just because a lot of the staffers actively race themselves). The PR folks field a small fleet of new cars at media introductions around the country, and thus need to haul tool boxes, an air compressor, generator, car lift and other equipment. Randy Miller, the principal engineer at Mazda R&amp;amp;amp;D, saw an opportunity to create something to make everyone&amp;#039;s life easier.  He sketched a solution, refined it with CAD software, laid out square steel tubing on the shop floor and welded up his solution: the Mazda Mobile Tool Box. As a product of the R&amp;amp;amp;D department, the gleaming white Mobile Tool Box is expertly crafted, with clean welds and meticulous attention to detail.  Cameras and displays show blind spots when driving in close quarters. Clearly labeled dashboard controls add to the overall quality feel. There&amp;#039;s even a necker&amp;#039;s knob on the steering wheel to ease those lock-to-lock maneuvers in the garage.  The Box is wired for 120-volt AC power from either its generator or from shore power if it&amp;#039;s plugged in on-site. Outlets are installed throughout for easy access. It is similarly plumbed with air lines from the compressor, so you can plug air tools in to the nearest port rather than snaking a hose back to the compressor.  Miller started with the guts of an electric cart like you&amp;#039;d see shutting about the tarmac at an airport. He converted the 36-volt electric motor to run at 48 volts and installed a corresponding battery pack. It has a top speed of 7 mph and will run for about an hour continuously, though that isn&amp;#039;t its duty cycle.  Its main job is to house the support equipment needed for new car introductions and make it all easy to lug to events. The giant toolbox is built in, along with the air compressor and generator. Maybe most impressively, the wagon&amp;#039;s underbody includes an attachment for the portable lift used to service cars in the field.  The lift is heavy and ungainly, just like the other tools, which made it a challenge to transport the support equipment to events in the past. &amp;quot;We would have to ship all this stuff separately to events,&amp;quot; Miller said. Now it&amp;#039;s just a matter of driving the Mobile Tool Box onto the transporter that&amp;#039;s taking the cars to the event. Also, now all of Mazda&amp;#039;s equipment is secure at night at the event site because it all locks inside the tool wagon.  The box&amp;#039;s exterior dimensions are the same as the maximum height, width and length of the Mazda CX-9, so anyplace the CX-9 fits, the tool wagon will, too.  Fully loaded, the Mobile Tool Box weighs three tons, so it rolls on solid rubber tires. And hey, the wagon&amp;#039;s generator (a Honda \u2013 shhh!) makes enough juice to keep the batteries charged, so it can drive on its own power, making the Mobile Tool Box Mazda&amp;#039;s one hand-built series hybrid vehicle. Mazda Mobile Toolbox Specs  Engine: Taylor-Dunn 36V, converted to 48V  Battery Charge: 1-hour-ish Drivetrain: 30:1 gear ratio reduction, axle and housing extension Suspension: 3-link suspension, Eibach springs: 850lbs front, 1200lbs rear, ProComp ES9000 heavy duty shocks Auxiliary: Generator: Honda EU6500iS 110V/220V, Compressor: Jenny GC2a-30, 2 hp, 13.1 cfm Weight: 5808 lbs. Top Speed: 7 mph  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a4354/car-culture-mazda-media-relations-mobile-toolbox/>