Using a 41-year-old "how-to" guide, a Snyder County pastor says he boosted the fuel-efficiency on his 1994 Lincoln Town Car by as much as 60 percent. The Rev. Frank Trego uses a process that converts water into hydrogen to power a contraption that supplements the operation of the engine.

Widespread use of garage-derived hydrogen may not be advisable considering the highly combustible nature of the fuel. Trego and others recount explosive close calls while experimenting. But if a pastor can fashion an alternative energy generator to power his personal car, why have the Big Three automakers been so slow to adapt to changing market conditions? U.S. automakers focused more on short-term profits by lobbying for decreased fuel-efficiency standards so they could produce and sell highly profitable but fuel-inefficient sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

Recent research shows that consumers are willing to pay $578 more for every mpg gained in fuel efficiency. Need proof? Look no further than the success of the Toyota Prius. U.S. automakers, on the other hand, continue to ride the brake rather than produce hybrid vehicles with mass appeal. Ford on Thursday announced the largest quarterly loss in the company's 105-year history. In response, the automaker will make available to American motorists small cars already on the market in Europe. By the end of the year, three truck and SUV plants will be converted to begin manufacturing cars, the company said. Other automakers previously announced similar initiatives.

Prompted by lobbying from environmental groups, Congress passed legislation that will increase fuel efficiency standards to 35 mpg over the next 12 years. The move came six years after the National Academy of Sciences reported that a 37 mpg standard could be achieved without sacrificing performance or safety. Success may have been partially enabled by polling data showing that even in Detroit and other regions where jobs depend on auto production, workers favored stricter fuel-efficiency standards. Factory workers understood what their bosses did not: American jobs are safer when U.S. companies produce competitive products. In a time of rising gas prices, better fuel efficiency gives vehicles better consumer appeal.

Plummeting earnings and stock prices seem to have finally gotten the attention of the lords in the boardroom. But not before the spirit of American ingenuity drove tinkerers like the Rev. Trego to address the issue of rising gas prices independently.