January 4, 2008
Uniquely American
You see one of these "Cold Fusion" stories every month or so. I'm still waiting for the nation to be powered by the scraps from the Tyson poultry plant.
Yet I hope that this one is true because it represents a uniquely American solution.
“Check it out. It's actually a jet engine," says Johnathan Goodwin, with a low whistle. "This thing is gonna be even cooler than I thought." We're hunched on the floor of Goodwin's gleaming workshop in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by the shards of a wooden packing crate. Inside the wreckage sits his latest toy--a 1985-issue turbine engine originally designed for the military. It can spin at a blistering 60,000 rpm and burn almost any fuel. And Goodwin has some startling plans for this esoteric piece of hardware: He's going to use it to create the most fuel-efficient Hummer in history.
Goodwin takes the largest American cars and fits them with electric drive and a fat burning jet 60KRPM jet to recharge supercapacitors. "Like a Prius on Steroids," he says. Well, Mr. Goodwin, I know Steroids. Steroids are a friend of mine. And your solution goes beyond steroids.
Let our beloved, European allies buy smaller and less powerful cars. Whether Goodwin's approach ever sees an integral market share or not, this is the way for Americans to beat the "fuel crisis:" with big, fast, mighty cars, If it indeed runs on french-fry grease, we might just get energy-independence after all.
Hat-tip: Insty