Air-powered car.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Air Car may look like a humorous clown car seen at the circus, but it's serious when it comes to energy efficiency.

Unlike gas guzzlers on the road, the Air Car's engine is powered by compressed air. Using air instead of gas cuts down on pollution and fuel costs.

The car can travel 1,609 kilometers (1,000 miles) at up to 154 km (96 mi) per hour. To go this fast and far, it burns a small amount of fuel to heat the air and increase its volume. But when driven around town, at speeds under 56 km (35 mi) per hour, the car runs on air alone, so it produces no carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to global warming (rise in Earth's average temperature). Even at higher speeds, the engine emits only a quarter as much carbon dioxide as a traditional vehicle.

The maker Zero Pollution Motors plans to start selling the first Air Cars in the United States in 2010.

VEHICLE FUEL ECONOMY

This graph compares an Air Car's fuel economy with that of other vehicles currently on the road. Which vehicle comes closest to the Air Car's fuel economy?

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]