You probably never thought you'd hear “McDonald's” [1] and “energy independence” [2] in the same sentence, but here is a tale that defies the odds: Mississippi resident Robert Tomey, who owns four Mickey-D's in the southeast, is running his VW Beetle [3] on the copious gallons of grease that are left over in his french-fry friers, according to a recent Associated Press article [4]. To advertise his concept, he has come up with the perfect neologism, emblazoned on his license plate: FRYBRID.

It's a bit messy to fill up the tank, but the fry grease offers plenty of perks over regular diesel – the exhaust smells like popcorn, it's got lower greenhouse gas and smog emissions [5], and best of all, it saves Tomney a mint: He used to spend more than $350 a week for diesel, what with all his commuting, but now spends almost nothing.

Tomey has plenty of extra grease fuel, and is hoping to forge an alliance of Northeast Mississippians who run their cars on his extras. He's offering to supply their fuel if they convert their engines. It's a relatively simple conversion that costs roughly $1350 per vehicle – including kit and installation - a sum that pays off in no time from costs saved on fuel.

If you're interested in converting your own car, check out “Veg My Ride” [6], a do-if-yourself DVD that “teaches how to convert a diesel vehicle to run on waste fryer oils for pennies a gallon.”

Photo credit: MSNBC.com [7], Chris Wilson / Amory Advertiser