This guy is just plain crazy. But the video is cool as hell.

EcoGeek has a nice article that dispels the widespread myth that cars that can run on nothing but water are on the horizon. The basic laws of chemistry tell us that to get water powered cars we’d have to build the world’s first perpetual motion machine.

As they put it:

There are a lot of variations on the water powered car, but they’re all bogus…. you can’t get more energy out of the system than you put in.

In other words, powering a car with nothing but water violates the laws of chemistry. Energy is needed not only to break water into its hydrogen and oxygen parts but also to recombine them. The only conditions under which this process can take place are those with highly engineered systems, with the built-in energy to make this process happen.

However, the process cannot take place with the presence of water alone.

The Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen car has begun commercial production, with 200 cars slated to be produced over the next 3 years. While that number is quite low, it bodes well for fuel-cell technology that one of the world’s largest car manufacturers is starting to crank these cars out into the streets.

The 2009 Corvette ZR1, number 4 in our most lustable cars of 2008, failed to make the 5 figure cut. It enters the market with a starting price of $103k - yes $103,000 before any upgrades or gas guzzler tax.

The 2009 Corvette ZR1 will reach speeds up to 205mph and go from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds.

For a long time, you had to purchase a hybrid out of the goodness of your heart. In other words, for the longest time, the likelihood of your owning your hybrid long enough for it to payoff was very, very low. You really needed to go hybrid for non-economical reasons (like your love for the environment).

The good news is that many hybrids are now cost-effective. They pay for themselves in less than 5 years, under normal driving conditions. Of course, you should keep in mind that hybrids are much more effective at saving gas in city driving as opposed to highway driving. If you do mostly highway driving, your hybrid purchase might still need to be an act of conscience, and not an attempt to save the piggybank.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that sales of Segways have gone through the roof as many people turn to alternative, more cost effective means of transportation.

The Segway is a perfect solution for those who travel less than 10 miles to and from work. It gets about 25 miles per charge and hits about 13 miles per hour. Once at work, you can plugin for free fuel (why not have your employer pay for your fuel after all!)

Once dismissed as a fad, the Segway, along with other electric scooters, are gaining in popularity among city dwellers as an effective way to commute when the weather permits.

Both Honda and Toyota have announced significant drops in the cost of replacement batteries for their hybrid vehicles. Cuts in costs are up to 45%.

According to ecomodder:

It will now cost just under $2,000 to have new batteries installed in you Honda Insight, and just under $2,500 for your Accord hybrid. These are about $1,000 reductions in the cost. Toyota, on the other hand, has dropped prices from ~$5,500 to $3,000, but that doesn’t include the installation, so the real cost is likely a bit more.

It is great to see the cost of alt-fuels drop as petroleum based fuels skyrocket. Perhaps we are witnessing a major industry shift.

Toyota plug-in hybrid

In a full-throttle commitment to go green and go big, Toyota has announced plans to release a plugin hybrid car by 2010. We feel that this move will reinforce Toyota as the true market leader in green technology and actually lead to a fundamental shift in the industry.

At RideLust, our view is that plug-in hybrids are the most likely green technology to quick, pervasive adoption. Why? Because they allow you to depend on electric 100% electric power for your daily commute, but provide long-distance range for the occasional family vacation.

Unlike pure electric vehicles like the Tesla Roadster, plug-in hybrids, such as the one coming from Toyota, don’t limit the distance you drive to 200 miles per charge and require a 3 hour downtime while you charge the vehicle up.

Rather, plug-in vehicles use the batteries in the vehicle for the first X number of miles and then convert over to a liquid fuel, drastically increasing your range and always enabling you to simply fuel up, rather than requiring a charge up in the middle of a trip.

The Toyota plugin hybrid will feature lithium-ion batteries produced by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Our road infrastructure continues to deteriorate, and the growing cost of oil will ensure that things get a lot worse before they get better. After all, the millions of miles of roads in this country are largely made out of oil. Yes, even when you’re driving that electric car, you’re still dependent on a lot of foreign oil.

As oil prices skyrocket, and the demand for oil continues to grow at unprecedented levels, many people are pointing to alternative energy sources for our vehicles as the key to both global warming and energy independence. But the story is a lot more complicated, and even our most energy efficient vehicles still need roads to drive on.

The fact of the matter is that our solutions for energy independence need to be a lot more comprehensive and groundbreaking than current proposals. Making better engines for our vehicles is a good start. But what about the roads we drive on?

Hopefully the next president of the United States takes this issue seriously enough and creates a mandate for radical change at all levels of our transportation infrastructure.

Reviews and impressions of the actual production US version of the 2009 Nissan GT-R are starting to come in. This is the real deal people. The GT-R that you and I can actually buy. Up until now the media has had access to prototypes and Japanese versions.

Before we jump into the various Nissan GT-R reviews that have appeared online, let’s try to arrive at a bullet point consensus.

• Amazing track performance
• Superior handling
• Top notch acceleration and speed
• About 17-18 mpg fuel efficiency (13-16 city and 20-23 highway)
• Best bang for your super car buck.
• Lacks some of the “soul” of other super cars like the Porsche 911
• A bit on the heavy side
• Exterior lacks “look at me” ooomph
• Interior lacks feel of luxury
• Distinctively Japanese
• Easiest performance car to drive
• Targeting the video game generation
• Drives “hard” for your typical daily drive

Now let’s move onto some of the reviews.