I don't make it a habit to compliment the French, but if what I'm reading is true, they get some major props. Nobody likes paying $3.50 (or more) for a gallon of gas, which is why more and more auto manufacturers are working hard to develop a model that gets super-good gas mileage. The high price of gas affects everybody, which is why some gas-electric hybrids that do better than 50 miles per gallon get some people so excited.

While 50 miles is a lot, can you imagine 117?

Well, the French automaker Peugeot Citroen has shown off a car that gets such great mileage because when it’s not running on gasoline, it uses air.

Cutaway of prototype "hybrid air" car. Image: PSA Peugeot Citroen

(photo courtesy of ABC News)

There’s literally a tank of compressed air in the floor or trunk that’s recharged by the engine or the brakes.

And when you’re just driving on city streets, the engine cuts off – and the air pushes the pistons.

The company could start selling air-hybrid cars in Europe by 2016. Click here to read more.