Cross-country drive on 2 gallons of gas

NASHVILLE, March 10 (UPI) -- A Middle Tennessee State University professor says he beat his career goal of driving cross-country on only 10 gallons of gas, making it on just over 2 gallons.

Cliff Ricketts and his eight-member support team drove three Toyota hybrid alternative-fuel vehicles roughly 2,582 miles -- from Tybee Island, Ga., to Long Beach, Calif. With juice to spare, Ricketts and his team made the trip on 2.15 gallons of gas from the pump, thanks to energy derived from solar, electric, ethanol and hydrogen power.

"I feel like I climbed Mount Everest," Ricketts told The (Nashville) Tennessean. "This has significance in life, and it has significance for mankind."

Ricketts has devoted the last 34 years of his career to research in alternative fuels. He said he hopes to make a coast-to-coast trip next year running only on solar and water power.