Wind-powered cars go where the breezes carry them

While using the wind to propel your vehicle works great out on the ocean when you're in a sailboat, it's less useful for vehicles on the road. You can't simply stick a sail on top of your Escalade and hope to get where you want to go.

That doesn't mean there aren't people working on wind-powered vehicles, however. InVentus has just won the Racing Aeolus 2008 competition, which pits wind powered vehicles against each other. The InVentus vehicle weighs in at a mere 286 pounds before the driver gets in, which allows it to pick up a good deal of momentum from its propeller on the back when it catches a breeze. Is it going to replace gas-powered cars anytime soon? No, but it's nice to see some alternatives out there being worked on.

Greased Lightning: 100MPG biodiesel hybrid blasts from 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds

Tiny car company Lightning Hybrids showed it means business at the Denver Auto Show this week, rolling out the first prototype of the LH4, a 100MPG speedster with a hydraulic-biodiesel hybrid drivetrain that can zip the tight four-seater from 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds.

The ambitious Colorado company with a staff of 12 says the car will be ready for production in 2011, with a three-wheeled version rolling out even sooner, in 2010. The 100MPG cars are expected to sell for between $39,000 and $59,000, and are candidates for the Automotive X-Prize, with $10 million going to the winner of a stage race of 100MPG vehicles.

This is one wild-looking ride, with its split rear window and lift-up door hatch for easy entry. Its three-cylinder turbo biodiesel is augmented by a hydraulic pump/motor, whooshing an additional 150hp into the wheels of this pocket rocket. Amazing. Click Continue to take a look at the video.

Crazy looking Honda Zeppelin features swiveling front seats

Figure out which direction this thing drives yet? In the image above, the Honda Zeppelin would zip off to the left. At glance, you might be tempted to say that designer Myung Jin Jung's creation's most interesting quality is its asymmetrical design, but the real weird stuff is actually going on inside.

The front seats of the Zeppelin swivel 180° (when the vehicle isn't in motion, or that's the plan), so that the occupants can interact with one another as if they were in a living room instead.

Supposedly the glamor of air travel inspired both the curvy, crazy exterior and the more personal interior thus the Zeppelin. I don't want to sound like a downer, but when I think of flying on a plane lately, I don't think of having space to stretch my legs or wanting to talk to the folks around me. Still, pretty car.