Future Technologies

The Road Ahead: Future Technologies
Which automotive technology will prevail in the future? The likely answer is a mix of technologies


Gas - continued improvements in fuel economy and reduced emissions are likely to keep the gas engine in the running for many years to come.
Diesel - Green Diesels - Ultra-clean burning diesels have been on European highways for years. The Lupo, produced by Volkswagon, gets 90 mpg. Diesel powered cars represent 25% of the European car market. (There has been very little press coverage on this technology in North America.) Improvements in 'green' diesel cars are expected: Volkswagon has announced that they expect to produce a four-passenger diesel powered car which can get 190 mpg. Scheduled for release in late 2004, the Jeep Liberty is the first clean-diesel in Daimler Chrysler's US lineup.
Biodiesel - a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Supply sources are now available across North America; a current list is available at www.biodiesel.org or by calling (800) 841-5849.
Electric - small, battery-powered, zero-emission vehicles are expected to become a popular alternative commuter vehicle, especially in congested urban areas.
Hybrid - may well become the dominant technology for all-purpose road cars, having an advantage over the electrics for driving longer distances.
Hydraulic Hybrid - Ford Motor Co. and the U.S. EPA are working together to develop a unique hybrid, high-efficiency vehicle that uses hydraulic fluid to store and provide energy to power the car. The technology could be used to dramatically improve the fuel economy of sport utility vehicles and light trucks. The hybrid system uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage tanks to store energy in the place of electric motors and batteries used in electric hybrid vehicles. This hydraulic power system could have cost and power advantages over electric hybrid systems, the developers believe.
Fuel cell - promising long-term outlook, but some obstacles yet to overcome, such as cost, improved performance, reducing the size and weight of the fuel cell systems and setting up a hydrogen fuel supply infrastructure. The current refining process for hydrogen fuel is a dirty process, and will need improvement. DaimlerChrysler has invested US$1 billion in fuel cell research and has built ten fuel cell vehicles either as concept cars or test vehicles, each one powered by Ballard fuel cells. Honda's fuel-cell car, the FCX, is currently being road tested.
Hydrogen hybrids - combine the high fuel economy attributes of today's gasoline- electric hybrids with the near-zero emissions of internal combustion engines running on hydrogen. The result is an extremely clean-running vehicle, using the same environmentally positive fuel as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but at a lower cost. A recently developed solid storage medium for hydrogen vehicles is key to this promising technology. Still, there’s a lot of work ahead to make this vision workable – costs must come down, fuel cell durability must improve, and challenges that go beyond the vehicles themselves must be met. Creating hydrogen economically is one of them, as is developing a widespread refueling infrastructure.