3 Americans, 1 Briton drive Trabant cars to raise money for charity work in Cambodia

Trabant cars driven pass Phnom Penh on 9th January 2008.

PHNOM PENH (AP) - Three Americans and a Briton, after traveling through 21 countries, have arrived in Cambodia by means of two unlikely vehicles the much maligned Trabant cars produced by the former East Germany.Throughout their six-month journey, their cars broke down some 320 times. But despite the odds, they reached Cambodia in their quest to raise money for street children in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation.The Trabant, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, is made mostly of plastic and has a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour. Its considerable deficiencies have long been the butt of jokes.John Lovejoy, a 26-year-old American who is the team leader, said yesterday that the journey has so far raised US$16,000, still far short of the original target of US$300,000.He said the money will be given to Mith Samlanh and M'Lop Tapang, two non-governmental organizations working with street children in Cambodia."We're passionate about this cause and knew we'd have to take an unusual spin on traditional fundraising tactics to really get the word out," said Lovejoy, from Washington, D.C.