When it comes to finding your new insurance quote then you really have to be searching online if you want to find a good quote, but this does not necessarily mean that you should be looking on the price comparison websites which are constantly to be seen between television programmes throughout the day and night.

The idea of the price comparison sites is excellent and they can be excellent for saving you time and giving you a good cross section of different insurance companies and a good idea out of all of the choices as to which is the best. Unfortunately, the problem with the price comparison sites is that they don’t include results from some of the very best insurance companies that are operating online. This of course means that every time you use the comparison sites you are missing out on potentially the cheapest, and the best quotes available to you.

The reason that some of these sites are not included in their results is that it costs these companies money to be part of the results, and the act of paying for their referral would mean that their quotes would actually be more, thus rendering the whole process pointless!

One such company is Hastings online, almost universally acknowledged to be a great insurance company, so you need to go direct to the site to find out how much money they could be saving you.

Alternative fuels for automobiles have gone from concept to fruition in the last decade, with electricity, gas and hybrid vehicles now being driven on our roads.

With the rising price of oil and concerns over carbon emissions however, scientists around the world are continuing to explore other alternative fuels in the hope of finding a cheaper, more environmentally sound fuel than oil, gas or electricity.

None have caused more controversy, however, than the fabled water-powered car.

Powered Cars

Several sources have claimed to have invented the so called hydro-electric car over the years, with at least three claims resulting in fraud charges.

Here’s a brief look at the bizarre world of water-powered cars.

Stanley Meyer’s buggy

In the 1990’s Stanley Meyer claimed to have engineered a dune buggy that was fuelled solely by water, and that the vehicle could travel 100 miles on 1 gallon of water.

Meyer’s tech was said to have replaced spark plugs with an injection device which would spray a mist of water into the engine. A cell would then split the water into hydrogen and oxygen before burning the hydrogen in a traditional internal-combustion engine.

The buggy was never independently verified and Meyer was convicted of fraud in 1996. Two years later he died of an aneurysm – with conspiracy theorists claiming he was poisoned.

Daniel Dingel

Filipino inventor Daniel Dingel claimed to have engineered a ‘hydrogen reactor’ to power a car, specifically his own 1996 Toyota Corolla.

The inventor claimed to have worked on the project since 1969 and refuses to reveal the secret to the technology.

Again, the inventor claims that the water is split into hydrogen and oxygen.

In November 2000, Formosa Plastics Group signed a deal to work with Dingel on developing the project.
By 2008, however, Dingel, aged 82-years-old, became involved in an ‘Estafa’ or ‘swindling’ court case with Formosa Plastics Group, and was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

Thushara Priyamal Edirisinghe

In Sri Lanka in 2008, it was reported that Thushara Priyamal Edirisinghe had claimed to have driven a water-powered car 300 kilometres on three litres of water.

The design reportedly used electrolysis to separate the oxygen from the hydrogen before burning the gases in a combustion engine.

Thushara initially received backing from the Sri Lankan government, before being arrested a few months later on suspicion of his involvement in investment fraud.

Until they exist…

Whilst it doesn’t look like the water-powered automobile will be appearing on forecourts any time soon, there are more realistic and readily-accessible way to cut back on the costs of motoring.

Making sure your tyres are properly inflated, and keeping regular checks on your car’s fluid levels will save you money on fuel and reduce the risk of your car breaking down.

Car-pooling is simple way to save money on motoring. If you live near someone who works near where you work, and you keep similar hours, then car-pooling with at least one person could cut your fuel bill in half – and you’ll be doing your part for climate change too.

On the admin side of things, the next time you renew your car insurance; use a price comparison website like Money supermarket to make sure you’re not paying over the odds for your policy.