What does Max Moseley, the head of Formula One racing’s governing body, the Federation Internationale De L’Automobile (FIA), have in common with the United States Merchant Marine?

Their motto . . .

“Acta, Non Verba.” Deeds, Not Words.

Now that’s a motto more people should aspire to.

Don’t get me wrong, action without words is a bit of a risky proposition. But Mr. Moseley seems to have found just the right balance.

About six months ago he announced his goal of having all F1 cars converted to hybrid power by 2011. Instead of blabbing about it every time he met with the press, he kept quiet for a bit while he tracked down a suitable technology that would meet the demands of the drivers, teams and fans.

And what did he find? A revolutionary way to harness the power of deceleration without burdening the cars with heavy batteries, made by a company called Torotrak (TRK:LSE).

In hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all electric vehicles, the motors act like giant alternators whenever the car is decelerating. The friction of the motor’s magnets against one another is converted into electric energy and stored in the batteries.

Instead of converting the kinetic energy into electricity, what Mr. Moseley proposes is called a “kinetic energy recovery system,” or KERS.

During deceleration a large flywheel attached to the transmission will keep spinning, then, when hard acceleration is needed the driver can press a button, release the stored-up energy and get a burst of speed when the flywheel is “put in gear.”

What does this mean for F1?

With the aid of KERS, F1 cars will be able to maintain the same straight-line performance characteristics with smaller engines and lower carbon emissions.

And what does this mean for regular drivers?

It means that the pedal is really to the metal when it comes to groundbreaking hybrid progress.

Throughout history, whenever new technology has been introduced to racing it wasn’t very long thereafter that it hit the streets.

Take fuel injection, for instance.

Since the early 80s every single car has been equipped with fuel injection. But you know where it first began to pop up?

That’s right, race tracks.

The first production car featuring Bosch’s mechanical (not our modern electric) fuel injection was the 1952 Mercedes 300SL that was introduced at the 1953 Mille Miglia where it placed second and fourth, very impressive for a first run.

It didn’t stop there, either. At local drag strips you could find mechanical fuel injection pushing ’57 Chevys to twelve-second runs down the quarter mile. And let’s not forget the ’63 fuel-injected Corvette that made the most horsepower out of any production 327 V8 and terrorized carbureted vehicles at local sports car racing clubs and Le Mans.

But there is a major difference between then and now. When Mercedes first perfected its fuel injection on a production scale there was no worry about gas prices or environmental concerns to contend with. But with the gas crisis in the 70s and tightening emissions controls, fuel injection really started to take off.

Now there is a great demand for fuel efficient vehicles, and this technology will greatly benefit EVs and hybrids.

Electric cars are known for their off-the-line performance. With maximum torque instantaneously available from a dead stop it’s no wonder these things can really get up and go. The problem is, just as with a gas powered car, heavy acceleration does a number on energy consumption.

If KERS were fitted on a Prius or any other hybrid/electric car, the strain on the batteries during hard acceleration would be reduced. That would help eliminate the need for more batteries and increase the range of these cars.

Max Moseley wants this system in F1 cars by 2011. I wouldn’t be surprised if by then we see it in PHEVs and EVs as well.

Keep your hopes in the future, but your sense in the present.

Field Palmer