These cars, which run on electricity for the first few miles (50 in the case of the Karma) including the Chevy Volt (which goes for 40 miles on battery), are not actually being called hybrids, since they run on electricity entirely at first, and then gasoline powered electricity when the battery runs out. So since they’re slightly different and the government loves confusing people, they’re getting the more government-sounding phraseology of “extended range electric vehicles.” Whatever you say, Uncle Sam.

The best thing about this extended range electric vehicular car is that it only emits 83 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, which is even less than the newest Toyota Prius.

Theoretically, a driver of the Fisker Karma could get to work in back without using any gas at all, assuming his round trip is less than 50 miles. This would upgrade its rated 67mpg to…infinity.

I remember one time in high school when the transmission for my 1990 Ford Taurus station wagon broke when I accidentally slammed on the gas and breaks at the same time. Since it was an automatic, I wasn’t really conscious of the fact that there even was a transmission, so when it broke, I found out what it actually did, which is connect the engine to the wheels via a series of gears. (Now that I drive a stick shift, I am intimately aware of the existence and function of transmissions.) I told my friend at the time my transmission broke that someone should invent a car that “just goes” so that you wouldn’t need a transmission and gear shifting and whatnot. He told me that I should invent the “just goes” car. He was being sarcastic.

Well, I am happy to report that the Fisker Karma actually IS a “just goes” car, and has no transmission that connects the engine to the wheels. The more power you pump from the battery, the faster the wheels spin. That’s it. This obviously cuts down on energy use because you don’t need an engine to spin gears to spin a drive train to spin wheels. You just have the engine spin the wheels, and cut out the middlemen.

I wonder what happens to the RPM meter then…

The use of water as a fuel is not a new idea; and was originally thought up by a British chemist and physicist named Michael Faraday back in 1825. The whole concept revolves around the chemical make-up of water itself – which composes nearly 70% of the earth’s surface, as well as own bodies. From a pure chemical standpoint water, or H2O, is the combination of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen – hence the elemental term H2O. Separately, both pure hydrogen and oxygen are very volatile elements, and can explode and burn profusely if exposed to even a spark. According to the developers of these new engines, the secret is separating the molecules and using the hydrogen as fuel.

A Japanese company Genepax, claims that it is now on the verge of producing a small commuter car that works by an engine that is actually powered by water – all kinds of water: saltwater, freshwater, even tea! The engine is actually an electric one that is powered by fuel cells which themselves receive their power from the hydrogen and oxygen that has been separated from water. The company’s executives say that the car can operate up to an hour on one liter of water and is completely non-polluting. While this idea is great for us, it’s terrible to the major oil companies, as well as the oil producing countries that supply them. Perhaps this is why so much objection to this idea is currently being generated, as can be seen in the following story:

The man who is said to be responsible for developing this idea is an American named Stan Meyer, who developed a process to remove hydrogen from water and turn it into a power source. He even built a prototype vehicle, a dune buggy, that was able to “split” the hydrogen in the water and “burn” this new fuel in an ordinary engine that had been converted to run on hydrogen fuel. His idea was even picked up by several news stations, who sent reporters to see and test drive Meyer’s new invention. But the idea as “put on ice” in 1998 when Meyer died from supposed food poisoning a day after he reportedly signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to build engines that ran on this hydrogen-from-water concept.

Perhaps the Japanese Genpax company will have better luck than Stan Meyer did in marketing a car that runs on water. Since Japan is an energy starved nation that has to import virtually all its energy from abroad (most of it from the Middle East), the Japanese government will look more favorably on the idea and even offer assistance. After all, Japan is an island nation, completely surrounded by – you guessed it – H2O ( with a little sodium chloride and other minerals thrown in).

The low weight of either the X dirt bike or S street bike frame is due to their being manufactured of specially designed aircraft aluminum. Each cycle has a unique suspension system that makes it an absolute pleasure to ride.
And being totally electric, the bike will run for pennies due to the very low electricity rates that can be generated by solar and wind bower. Those interested in simply a low cost transportation solution will like the S street bike as it can get them around for hours on one charge. The X dirt bike, will zip riders up and down sand dunes, river bottoms, and hills on an engine that delivers 50 ft pounds of torque – enough to satisfy any weekend dirt-biker. And it also comes with fully adjustable suspension and hydraulic disc brakes.

Price for the X model dirt bike is $7,450 and $9,900 for the S model street version. Both versions come with the special Z-Force™ Li-Ion Power Pack battery and Z-Force™ Li-Ion Fast Charger. They can be shipped anywhere in USA by UPS for only $300, or worldwide, as per prevailing shipping prices. For worldwide customers, all inclusive prices, including customs duties and other taxes are available on request.

The new motorbike may be an environmental godsend for large cities with high air pollution problems, such as Cairo Egypt, Mexico City, and Bangkok Thailand. And perhaps the same technology can also be incorporated into an electric car that is both light weight as well as non-polluting. After all, if there is already an X Bike, why not an X-Car?

1. Solar power is too expensive to be of much use. X – False
2. Wind power is too unreliable. X – False
3. Marine energy is a dead-end. X – False
4. Nuclear power is cheaper than other low-carbon sources of electricity. X – False
5. Electric cars are slow and ugly. X – False
6. Biofuels are always destructive to the environment. X – False
7. Climate change means we need more organic agriculture. X – False
8. Zero carbon homes are the best way of dealing with greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. X – False
9. The most efficient power stations are big. X – False
10. All proposed solutions to climate change need to be hi-tech. X – False