Clark Howard's Tips

July 9, 2008

Getting our country on a better footing with energy has been a longtime personal mission for Clark. Some of you may have heard about his 3-wheel car called the Freeway. This vehicle ran on a 12-horsepower Tecumseh engine and had no reverse gear!

Following the demise of the Freeway, Clark has had a Honda Insight and, more recently, a Honda Civic that runs on compressed natural gas. He "fills" up the Civic for the equivalent of $2.80 gallon. In addition, he also has a scooter that gets 90 mpg.

A legendary oilman named T. Boone Pickens is among the latest personalities advocating switching all automobiles over to natural gas. He's currently on a media tour to promote his energy agenda. While some say he has cynical motivations, Clark says we should cut him some slack.

Other elements of Pickens' agenda include a heavy emphasis on wind power, solar energy, nuclear power and the experimental clean coal technology. Clark believes all of these alternative energies are in their infancy.

We can't afford to be deterred from further exploration of any of them by a "Three Mile Island" mentality.

Consumer advice courtesy of