Similar to the way electric cars have regenerative breaking, the very attractive Maxwell von Stein, 22, a graduate of The Cooper Union, invented a bike that harnesses your pedaling power. His beta bicycle uses a flywheel (pulled from an old Porsche) spinning between the crossbars to create energy. According to NPR's Science Friday, "The flywheel stores the kinetic energy until Max wants a boost, then he can transfer the energy back to the wheel using a shifter on the handlebars."

This would do wonders while riding on the hilly streets of San Francisco, yes? It's a good way to get a kick in your bike sans the use of gasoline.

"I'm not trying to reinvent the bicycle. It's a platform to learn more about his new hybrid," he explains. Von Stein's goal is to a) get a job and b) put his flywheels on all cars. He stands an excellent chance of doing both. But don't take our word for it. Watch Max demonstrate his wonderful doohickey in the following video:

Citizen SF snapped up this bit of automotive gold. And holy smokes! You'll never guess who was driving this, "The first Lexus LS 600h L hybrid luxury sedan to arrive in San Francisco."

We'll give you a hint: she looks like Jennifer Siebel only less smarmy yet a bit more shiny. And she's irresistibly whimsical. And practically perfect in every way. Can you guess?

So sad.

Oh, San Francisco. You amuse us so.

This SUV here would like you to know that it's not furnished with any animal products, okay? But before you start going into convulsions, it's an SUV hybrid. So...well, it still grosses us out a bit. Not the SUV part, but the part about environmentalists of the Bay Area adopting an even more aggressive moral majority-ish tone, one that worries us. Watch it, people.

Image credit: Flickr's Brian Brooks