Cure for High Gas Prices: a Converted Motor

According to Energy Information Administration, roughly 69% of all petroleum is used for the production of gasoline and diesel fuel. With the price of crude oil rising to ever-higher record levels at the same time as the US dollar is plummeting, the operating costs for almost every vehicle on the road are skyrocketing.

The price of gas affects everyone. Beyond the pump, every item in every store in the country is shipped by truck, and the increasing costs of transportation are reflected in higher prices for even the most basic necessities.

These higher prices are, in turn, driving an escalation in costs in virtually every other industry. Inflation is tightening its grip on the economy, and threatening to send us into a full-blown depression.

All because of the price of fuel.

But one American company is working on a solution.

Empire Web, a New York based technology firm, is developing a replacement for the century-old internal combustion engine - one that doesn't require gasoline, or even ethanol. In fact, the new motor doesn't use any kind of fuel at all. Better still: existing engines don't have to be replaced; they can be converted quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively.

The new design utilizes the power of an electroactive polymer, a special synthetic liquid that expands dramatically when exposed to a relatively small electrical current. With the proper formulation, a typical four-cylinder sedan, for example, could potentially travel upwards of 10 miles on a simple 9-volt household battery. With an existing car battery, a converted automobile might achieve more than 6 hours of continuous operation at highway speeds.

In a conversion motor, the engine's cylinders are filled with the polymer, requiring only minor adjustment, and use the existing spark plugs to provide the needed charge to cause expansion, pushing the pistons down, and giving the vehicle motive force.

Literally, almost any gasoline-powered vehicle could be converted to an electric one at a very low cost, and with little change in performance. Of course, such vehicles have to be recharged, which does take a bit longer than gassing up - but, all things considered, that's a more than fair trade. A vehicle's operational range can even be extended by adding more battery power.

Because a converted car would be electric, it would produce no emissions and make almost no noise. But best of all: because it's electric, its operational costs would no longer be tied to the price of oil.

A big rig, possibly one delivering groceries to your corner store, could save thousands upon thousands of dollars annually. Inflation's oil-based death-grip on the economy can soon be broken.

The conversion package isn't ready for sale yet - development still faces a number of challenges, such as creating replacement programming for the computer systems that control spark timing in most modern vehicles. But, in the days ahead, every American will come to realize the benefits of this new innovation.

Keep a weather eye on the horizon, America!