Brothers Team Up To Create 100-Mile-Per-Gallon Car

Motorists Looking For Fuel-Efficient Options As Gas Prices Surge
Reporting
Dana Kozlov
DU PAGE COUNTY, Ill. (CBS) ― With gas prices seeming to go up every single day, some people are more determined than ever to find different, more cost effective ways to get around.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, the Ewert brothers have a rather advanced science project. But instead of a typical dry ice experiment, Chris and Andrew used batteries and a charger to make their hybrid Toyota Prius get 100 miles per gallon.

"My brother and I built this, and car companies should be able to do it, too," Chris Ewert, an electric vehicle enthusiast, said.

The car is the Wheaton brothers' way of lessening the dependence on oil and helping the environment.

It's something the DuPage County Forest Preserve has been focused on for close to a decade.

"Oh, we're making a significant difference in the environment," said the district's John Walton.

The district has hybrids and vehicles that run on four different types of alternative fuels, including natural gas.

"It burns at less than 10 percent of the pollutants of gasoline, and for the mile per gallon dollars, it's costing us about a dollar a gallon," Walton said.

If you want to forget about fuel sources altogether, you can go electric. Small electric cars get 40 miles per charge, costing three cents a mile, and are meant for local neighborhood use.

"With the gas prices going up and with the green movement, it's really unbelievable the number of cars we're selling today," said Dan Mack of the Electric Avenue Auto Mall.

The hitch is the vehicles are not legal in Illinois.

That's frustrating, considering Mack, Walton and the Ewerts are convinced gas is not the way of the future.

"There is no gas shortage today; there will be in the very near future," Walton said. "We are not going to have gasoline the way we have it."