Four Ways of Looking at a Car

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AS A FUEL-FREE RIDE
It looks like a lunar lander, but what's really out of this world about the Venturi Eclectic tribrid is that-for short distances, at least--it can be powered entirely by wind and sun. Thanks to its onboard wind turbine, a mere breeze can juice the car's battery enough to provide nine miles of driving. You get three to four more miles from solar panels on the roof. (To go farther than the grocery store, you need the car's plug-in battery.) Without sides, the Venturi is not the safest, although its designers say it's intended more for errand running than for highway merging. Last year, the company sold 200 early versions of the car for $33,000 each; more mainstream models were unveiled in October. Whether or not this particular car catches on, the hope is that its innovative technology will.