E85 Chevrolet Equinox and Avalanche
General Motors
Starch your engines! These Chevys run on E85, fuel that's 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline (proportions opposite to those of the petrol Americans commonly pump). The Equinox is a split‑parallel hybrid with two electric engines. Designed by engineering students at Virginia Tech University, the SUV won the recent Challenge X competition, which is sponsored by GM and the Department of Energy to encourage environmentally friendly automobile designs. The Avalanche is a flex-fuel vehicle that burns standard unleaded gas or any blend of gas and up to 85 percent ethanol. This gives drivers the choice of using greener fuel when they can find it – and doesn't leave them stranded when they can't.
Bionic Dolphin
NoLand
Jet skis are so 20th century. NoLand's variable-attitude submersible hydrofoil cruises across open water at speeds of up to 80 mph and below the surface at 40 mph. The two-person recreational vehicle, which dives at least 10 feet, uses forward momentum and downward-lift wings to "fly" underwater.
Wheelsurf
Wheelsurf
This monocycle crosses a skateboard with a motorbike. Wheelsurf relies on two concentric structures – an outer "tire" and an inner rotating chassis that keeps the driver upright and houses a single-cylinder engine, clutch, propulsion mechanism, and fuel tank. The cycle goes up to 30 mph and has a throttle and brakes on the handlebars, but the rider steers by shifting their weight.
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