Re: charcoal... (Score 1)

I hope they also use mesquite in their charcoal. I like my car exhaust to have that flavor that only mesquite can deliver.
Will the new engines come with a grill?

Ironically charcoal has been used to fuel cars. Charcoal, Wood and other biomass solids have been gasified into an engine fuel for cars, trucks and motor bikes. This technology was used in Germany during WW2 and reappeared in the united states as a reaction to the 1973 gas shortages.

Some pictures of charcoal fueled vehicles:
http://www.woodgas.com/images/Mel_Strand_Truck_and _TBR.jpg
http://www.gengas.nu/bilder/werner/Bild313.jpg
http://www.gengas.nu/bilder/werner/Bild120.jpg
http://www.gengas.nu/bilder/werner/Bild287.jpg
http://www.gengas.nu/bilder/rolf_barry_berg/rolf_b arry_berg.jpg
http://www.woodgas.com/images/NASMotorcycle.jpg
You could put a grill top on this open gasifier http://www.gengas.nu/bilder/pics/pv2.jpg

This is the chop down the forest approach to keeping the cars running, but it does work on grass cuttings too. FYI the flammable gas mixture is N,H,CO. And there are some tricks to lower the amount of Nitrogen in the mix to get better performance. Staying on topic, it is also possible to convert this biomass derived synthesis gas into Methane or Methanol... And a corncob Methane storage tank might be much lighter to carry around then a gasifier system and wood...

Personally though my favorite alternative fuel system is the wood burning turbine. It's a lot like Doc Browns Mr Fusion device, you put junk in and burn it... Very tempting to build. http://www.gas-turbines.com/nt6/index.html