Electric Popemobile Wanted

The push for alternative means of propulsion for cars has been, the last five years or so, a leap of faith for car manufacturers. Their efforts, at first shy, have soon turned into a trend and, for better or worse, EVs, PHEVs, hybrids and solar powered vehicles are slowly pushing aside the good old internal combustion engine.

The fast pace set by the world's manufacturers, as well as public's increasing appeal for these types of vehicles has eventually caught up with the Vatican itself. The current spiritual leader of some 1.1 billion people, Pope Benedict XVI has decided to embrace them as well.

The Vatican announced this week that the iconic Popemobiles will soon by powered by a more Godly source than the current Earthly fossil fuel: the sun. According to Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, the leader of Vatican City, the Pope, is very keen on the idea of turning to a more cleaner means of transportation, one which would save the planet along with the souls saved by the Pontiff.

Now, things might not seem as easy as they look, as converting the Pope's car to run on electricity, although a desire of the Pope himself, might hit the brick wall of his security services.

According to Milan Nitzschke, marketing chief for SolarWorld (the company with the biggest chances of getting the Pope to run on electricity), for some reason, the security services have an unfounded fear that an electric Popemobile would not be able to get out of a tough spot in a hurry, if needed, due to poor acceleration times. As we all know, that's far from the truth.