Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, visits the solar car shop

Today was the official dedication of VAIL – the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory. On hand were some executives from Volkswagen, as well as the German Chancellor.

After some mercifully short speeches, Angela Merkel toured the projects related to VW or groups living in VAIL. Our own four minutes in the spotlight went relatively well.

Here’s the photo recap:

Chancellor Merkel giving a speech for the dedication of VAIL
Ribbon cutting with very, very large shears
Secret service guy protecting our parts bins from Sam
Spy camera shot of Sam defeating secret service protection and snagging LEDs
Chancellor Merkel signing a memento for the team
More secret service guys, protecting the Chevy(?!?) motorcade
Sam and Vivian with Menlo Park City Council Member Heyward Robinson
Autographed picture of Apogee, with authorization from Sven for wall mounting