2010 Kia Aero-Soul Available for Order

We all know by now that power can be drawn from just about all of the nature's elements. Electricity is produced from water, wind, coal and even garbage. The automotive industry is no stranger to the new developments and tries to keep up with all the new technologies available. What we didn't expect from a manufacturer was to try and tap the wind generated by the moving vehicle to improve fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

Kia, on the other hand, seems to be one step ahead. The manufacturer has unveiled its new Aero-Soul concept, not a car per se but a so called add-on, consisting of front and rear bumpers which monitor external wind speed and deploy panels when the wind is sufficient to provide additional power.

At cruising speeds, if the wind behind the car is strong, the panels will harness wind power to provide forward motion. If the car is slowing or is under braking, the panels will deploy to provide additional retardation effort.

Additionally a small electrically powered baffle can be lowered just behind the exhaust pipe under harsh braking to provide scaled down “reverse-thrust”, similar to the one used by aicraft during landing. But what is it good for?

“Tests of this system at our Nong Dam facility have shown that during windy weather fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 25 per cent and emissions by anything up 40 per cent. Even in calm weather using the system simply under braking can result in reductions of 10 per cent and 15 per cent respectively," Avril Babo, Kia’s Eco-Technology systems manager told kia-buzz.com.

The only problem is that the system, still in its testing phase, remains unpractical due to its size and the fact that it is a prank. If you haven't caught on by now, we are forced to tell you that this entire article is an April fool's day release by the Korean manufacturer.

We enjoyed it, unlike some in the automotive online press, because it seems like a good way for those who have too much "crisis" on their minds to loosen up a bit. If you worry, we promise this is the last prank we tell you about.