“We must surely be able to organize ourselves… in ways in which we are not dependent on it to such a great extent for our daily needs,” the Prince wrote in a forward to a report called “Building for the Future”.

In recent years, there has been increasing focus on sustainability both in the building industry and in the automotive industry.  Hybrid vehicles and fuel-efficient cars like the Smart ForTwo have been claiming a greater percentage of the automotive market and edging out larger vehicles like SUVs.

Prince Charles is not alone in “elevating the pedestrian above the car.”  There are drastic changes going on all over the world when it comes to driving habits.

In Texas, car enthusiasts can eschew ownership in exchange for exotic car rental or exotic car sharing clubs.  Rather than hassle with the daily expense of owning an exotic car, many enthusiasts are choosing instead to rent an audi r8 for the weekend.

Other popular exotic car rental options include Lamborghinis, ferraris, Porsches, and Bentleys.  Options like exotic car rental allow exotic car fans to drive fuel-efficient vehicles during the week and rent exotic cars for special occasions.

Unfortunately, for many Americans, eliminating driving simply isn’t an option.  For us, it’s more likely to come down to a choice of automobile.  For the British, new housing developments like those lauded by Prince Charles may be a possible solution to the problem of climate change.

“This kind of public transport-oriented development is fundamental to achieving the ultimate goal of a low carbon community,” wrote the Prince, “and it is very likely that such communities, far from being austere, will actually become the sought-after places where people will choose to live and spend their time.”

Prince Charles owns a two Audis, a Range Rover, two Jaguars, and an Aston Martin.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer living in the Twin Cities.

According to the BBC News story by Jude Sheerin, British adventurer Neil Laughton will set off from London on “an incredible journey through Europe and Africa in a souped up sand buggy, travelling by road – and air.”

In the immortal words of Scottish Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson, “It’s a car and a plane. I know!”

The Skycar is the creation of 29-year-old inventor Gilo Cardoza. Its flight is powered by a large fan motor and aided by a parachute. The team that created the Skycar calls it “the world’s first road legal biofueled flying car”, so it presumably runs on soybean oil and grease left over from the fish and chips maker of the local pub.

All of the flight pictures in the BBC article were mock ups, but — not to worry– the Skycar has been tested in a secret location and its creators assure us that it works 100%.

Added assurance comes from the fact that the inventor is willing to serve as copilot for the African leg of the 42-day expedition. The route covered will take the pair of adventurers through France, Spain, Morocco, and into the Sahara. The Skycar will pass through or over portions of Mauritania and Mali before returning home by way of Senegal.

No word on what sort of in-flight meals will be served or what the in-flight movie might be. The original plans for the Skycar were a more modest channel crossing, but UK civil aviation authorities nixed that.

In what is surely one of the word’s great understatements, Mr. Laughton told BBC News, “Clearly the reliability of the car is crucial. We are going to have to cope with wind chill temperatures as low as -30C and blistering heat up to 50C.”

Reliability is important if you’re taking a prototype flying dune buggy over the Sahara, and it is the creation of a ‘self taught’ engineer. To be fair, the Skycar technology is more proven than I am implying.

Anyway, secretly I am a little jealous as the pair undertakes an exotic car driving experience in a one-of-a-kind vehicle. As a press release writer, I also like the bravado of the Timbuktu itinerary. Should you wish to follow the news of their journey, visit http://www.skycarexpedition.com. For more on the inventor and his Wiltshire-based enterprise, visit http://www.parajet.com.

Thrill seekers longing for their own bio-powered Skycars will not have to wait long to get their hands on a Skycar as the inventor has plans to sell them. At only 50,000 pounds, a Skycar really is almost affordable enough to consider as a second vehicle. Production of the Skycar is expected to be very limited, but you may see one join the paddock at a car sharing club or even in an exotic car rental fleet.

You never know.

Article written by SEO Web copywriter Eric Anderson. Eric’s recent writing projects include sites for a Tampa FL mortgage broker and a Dallas car storage company.