If you’ve ever dreamed of being Eddie Van Halen, now is your one and only chance. Kevin Dugan, the designer behind Eddie’s guitar from his 1986 Van Halen 5150 tour and Van Halen’s Crew Chief for 25 years, is auctioning off that very same guitar for around $35,000 to $48,000 with a starting bid of $25,000. With a price tag like that, I’d never play it. I’d keep it in a glass case behind metal bars in an underground vault. I would worship it every night, right before bed. Occasionally, I’d wear it around for show just to make Vince jealous.

And then I wake up and cry because I don’t own EVH’s guitar. Damn.

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Nothing beats driving 60 miles for one hour only to end up stopping for an 8 hour charge as you run up the electric bill of some random stranger. Not even Chevy can deny the satisfaction of only having to stop at a gas station once a month, so it’s officially announced the Chevy Volt due out on the streets around late 2010.

If you couldn’t guess it by the name, Volt, it’s the first official plug-in hybrid from a major American manufacturer. Chevrolet is promising costs of just 2 cents per mile, which certainly will put less of a burden on your wallet than any traditional foreign car.  It’s about time some major American car manufacturers stepped into the hybrid race, but I’m still waiting on the elimination of fossil-fuel operated vehicles altogether.

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Smart, that lovely micro car company that everyone adores, is currently working on an all-electric version of the Smart ForTwo called the Smart Ed in London. While that’s all fine and dandy, just wait till you get a load of some of these numbers that Smart has put out during testing.

An 8-hour charge gets up to 72 miles of travel at up to 60 mph, and the makers suggest a lunchtime top up to get 100 miles a day.

Not bad at all! To boot, Smart claims the car will get the equivalent of 300 mpg. All by plugging into your standard electrical socket. If the Smart Ed makes it to the US, I doubt Mercedes/Daimler will be able to meet the demand. Considering you could use anyone’s electric to recharge your vehicle, you’d essentially be driving for free.

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A private product design firm in Glendale, Arizona is now offering a $200 set of construction plans that will allow anyone to build a plug-in hybrid that gets 225 miles per gallon. Dubbed the XR3, Robert Q. Riley Enterprises says the car has a 100-mile range can use different drive trains to make it either all electric or a diesel-based hybrid. No word on how much the parts cost to make your own car but I’d guesstimate somewhere around the $5000 range for the electric model. It’s no Batmobile but it’ll have to do.

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First, D-Link put routers in your pocket. Now, they’re thinking about the environment. D-Link is proud to claim it’s the first manufacturer to produce green home network WiFi routers capable of saving up to 40% in power usage. These routers are like a thoughtful roommate who never leaves the TV on or forgets to put the toilet seat down. With the ability to detect cable length and link status, they’ll adjust power accordingly, so you’re not racking up that electric bill for nothing. Each router can also be programmed to turn the WiFi radio off in an effort to save power.

D-Link has equipped three of their routers with this new technology: D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router DIR-665, Xtreme N Duo Media Router DIR-855 and the Xtreme N Gaming Router DGL-4500. While the new green ethernet technology affects each router differently, you can be sure that surfing the web without ruining the planet has never been easier, so long as you’re not using that Buffalo Nfinity.

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In an attempt to turn everyday household windows into solar panels, two MIT researchers have created “organic solar concentrators” out of dyed glass that could potentially increase traditional solar panel efficiency by 50%. Imagine fulfilling all your electrical needs with the help of your typical household glass windows.

I sure hope you haven’t desecrated your roof with inefficient solar paneling for no better reason than to impress your neighbors. In comparison to expensive solar paneling, these dyed windows will give you more bang for your buck. Which means you’ll have more money to burn on things like that stretch Hummer you’ve always wanted. Can I stop paying my electrical bill yet?

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We enjoy the idea of concept cars. Whether they be gas-guzzling, budget crippling powerhouses or eco-friendly, self sufficient carts, we support car design ingenuity. However, the Peugeot+ is a design as goofy as its name. There is nothing “plus” about a car missing one wheel. This cicada-esque design is said to be a combination between scooter and car.

So, why is it plus and not minus? Well, it’s environmentally friendly so that’s a plus, but it’s powered by a smaller electric engine that has about as much kick as your lawnmower. That’s a minus.

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Designer Adrien Rovero got confused when coming up with the Candlelight electric light. Half romantic candlelight dinner, half-end-table study lamp. You’ll either impress your date for the evening or confuse her. It’s a simple decision: light the candle or flick the switch? Or you could even light ‘em both up simultaneously.

After dropping $150 on this dual light source, you’ll only find yourself using the candle side to mitigate your electric bill to make up for the money lost after buying this thing.

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I’ve always wanted a motorcycle but I don’t think I’m responsible enough to ride open-air-style down a highway at 120 MPH. Ben Nelson, however, is more of a risk taker. The lucky sonofabitch got a 1981 Kawasaki KZ440 motorcycle for a mere $100. He swapped out the (broken) motor and was able to add four huge batteries for $160 and a $500 Etek motor. Two weekends of work later, Ben has a new hog.

It’s probably not as fast or badass-sounding as the original motor but you can’t beat this kind of mileage. While it can only do 45 MPH and run for 20 miles on a charge, Ben’s motorcycle hack is the perfect answer for beating the oil game, going green and having a fun project to work on. Besides, it’s ten times cooler than that ugly electric motorcycle those high schoolers made.

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It may not be the hover board from Back To The Future but it’s almost as dangerous. The Altered Pro Module 600 wireless electric skateboard is the only skateboard guaranteed to get lady attention. With a wireless remote for controlling the acceleration and braking of the skateboard, who needs legs?

It can go from 0-19 MPH in only four seconds and can do an 8-12 mile trek on a single charge. Talk about pro-boarding! Those are some mighty intense speeds for a board. You could always wear a helmet but then you’ll also have to disregard the “lady attention” mentioned earlier.

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