Green Options

Have you ever wanted to drive a golf ball? And no, I don’t mean hit it with a driver down the fairway in hopes of a hole-in-one. I mean get behind the wheel of a car covered in dimples which replicate the skin of a golf ball.

That’s the idea behind the Fastskinz MPG-Plus car wrap, which claims to increase gas mileage by as much 20% and in the process reskins your car to look like a four-wheeled, car-shaped golf ball. Popular Mechanics decided to put the Fastskinz MPG-Plus to the test and see if the claims of greater fuel efficiency are for real, or just a bogus marketing scheme.

There’s no amount of money that could convince me to spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square, but even I have to admit that this year’s Ball is innovative. The new Ball, which weighs 11,875 pounds and is double the size of previous Balls, will light up with help from 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs.