Two engineers built a prototype of a very fuel-efficient car in their spare time. KFMB's Spencer Washburn reports.

Well, here it is folks. A company has finally gone and built the controversial hydrogen hybrid system (or hydrogen injection, or Water4Gas or HHO system – choose your poison) into what appears to be a true production car. Not only that, the car looks, well, stunning… to put it mildly.

DETROIT — The Nissan Motor Company plans to sell an electric car in the United States and Japan by 2010, raising the stakes in the race to develop environmentally friendly vehicles.

When I wrote my first column on the electric car early in 2007 it was triggered by the announcement that GM was going to bring the Chevrolet Volt to market in 2010. As stated then, this was a significant event in that this was going to be the first plug-in car produced in significant volume and at an affordable price. GM was underscoring this by putting the Chevrolet name plate on the car. Plug-in cars are important as they have the potential for transportation with no heat and emission generating combustion. Significant volume is important because anything less will not lessen use of fossil fuels and resultant greenhouse emissions.

Ed Begley, Jr. explains to actor friend Bradley Whitford why electric motors are more efficient, easy to charge and get plenty of mileage for everyday use, as they take is his pure electric truck for a spin.

If you can, imagine a vehicle that runs on air, achieves over 100 gas-equivalent mpg and over 90 mph, has zero to low C02 emissions, seats six, has plenty of space for luggage, cuts no safety corners, and costs no more than an average economy to mid-size vehicle.

Electric cars that run on renewable wind or solar power eliminate emissions. But even today, with 50% of U.S. power coming from dirty coal plants, plug-in cars still reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and most other pollutants compared with either conventional gasoline cars or hybrids, because so much of it comes out of tailpipes.

Do you think the government is doing enough to find alternative energy solutions for gasoline cars?

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