One thing I love about this weblog is that when I ask a question here, someone always has the answer…
Driving along today, I noticed a Ford Explorer with something odd attached. A hose about a half-inch in diameter was coming out of the bottom of the back seat door on the driver's side. The door was closed so there may have been some sort of notch cut into the door to allow this. Anyway, the hose led over and attached to the center of the hubcap on the rear tire on that side.
What the heck is that? The only thing I could guess was that some kind of battery is being charged by being connected to the spinning tire…but that doesn't seem particularly energy-efficient.
But like I said: Someone here will know…