A trip to get from one side of the country to the other in an older model Volkswagen truck ended only three days into the drive. Professor Cliff Rickett's at MTSU was calling his trip the "Southern Fried Fuel" cross-country adventure. His plan was to drive 3,550 miles from Key West, Florida to Seattle, Washington using pure animal fat primarily from chickens and waste vegetable oil collected from the university dining facilities.

Ricketts told NewsRadio WGNS that the VW is out of commission, at least for the time being. The transmission went out on Monday night...

In a test this past week, Dr. Ricketts drove his 34-year old VW Rabbit 600 miles using 75 percent diesel and 25 percent pure biodiesel from the processed chicken fat and parts. In that road trip, he averaged more than 45 miles per gallon.

While the trip is not totally off, it has been temporarily suspended.

Dr. Ricketts plans to resume his quest in March or May. WGNS NewsRadio will keep you informed.