Because of gasoline shortages leading up to World War II, Italians looked to other fuel sources for mobility. In 1939 businessman Alejandro Tartarini converted this Fiat 508C Balilla to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of gasoline, making it the first-ever CNGpowered vehicle. The natural gas was stored in two large tanks mounted to the car’s roof. After the war, Tartarini founded Tartarini Auto Industries to further develop and refine CNG technology for automobiles.