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Entry bubble The Future of Automobile Fuel

By: Jake | June 02, 2008 | Category: Money

The Toyota Matrix I bought two weeks ago may be the last fully gasoline-powered car I ever buy. I believe this because gasoline prices are high, alternative fuels and cars are continually developing, and by the time I buy my next car (10 years—fingers crossed) there should be a lot more options than just gas-powered cars.

After my post about why gasoline prices are rising, a few of you wanted me to write about research on alternative fuel sources. The United States Department of Energy has a website devoted to alternative fuels and vehicles. These vehicles generally cost more than conventional vehicles, but are friendlier on the environment, come with federal tax incentives and generally use cheaper fuel (if you can find it).Hydrogen

Alternative fuels are not derived from petroleum. Most of the time they are made from renewable resources and produce less pollution than gas and diesel. Natural gas and propane are in this group along with ethanol, which is produced from corn. Bio-diesel and many emerging fuels are produced from vegetable oils and animal fats.

The most interesting and most controversial alternative fuel is H2 or hydrogen which can be produced from fossil fuels, nuclear energy, photobiology and other methods. The only runoff that hydrogen cars produce is water, so there is no impact on the environment. Fuel cell vehicles are powered by hydrogen but are currently not in mass production.

There are other alternative fuel and advanced vehicles in production, but they are a little pricier than your conventional fully gasoline-fueled car. You've probably seen hybrid cars around, which are a combination of electric and gasoline power and seem the be the most cost-effective for many people these days.

It's a changing time for automobile production, and it'll be interesting to see what we will be test driving in the coming years.

| View Comments [10] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: alternative   biodiesel   ethanol   fuel   fuel cell   gas   hybrid   hydrogen   jake   natural   propane  

Comments (10):

blue comment bubble Posted by Albert Reingewirtz on June 02, 2008 at 09:26 AM EDT

in 1963 I owned a 2CV Citroen. It sat 4 people comfortably. The seats could easily be taken off to carry bulk items that could stick out when the roof was open. It had 4 wheel independent suspension and two air cooled cylinders. 60 miles to the gallon! And it had while driving in town a centrifugal clutch that made easy to drive in stop and go traffic. People have to stop using SUV's and muscle cars.
Then tax cas like Europe to force people to be sensible.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Citizen Jmaximus on June 02, 2008 at 12:04 PM EDT

Hybrid cars like Chevy's soon to be released Volt are the next step. Plug-in hybrids make the most sense and are precursor to all electric cars. Hydrogen is currently made from coal or natural gas and is very hard to store compactly. Additionally fuel cells are made of platinum, the most precious metal. Alternative biofuels are part of the solution, but we still must transform our currently fleet from gas hogging SUV's and trucks to more fuel efficient cars and crossovers for it to make a difference.

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blue comment bubble Posted by MATRIX OF INVENTIONS on June 02, 2008 at 01:24 PM EDT

THE TERM MATRIX IN THE OLD TESTAMENT DEAL WITH THE OPENING OF THE WOUND OF WOMAN AND I THINK THAT THE CARS OF THE FUTURE WILL BE OUT OF THE MATRIX OF INVENTION THE OPENING OF THE MINDS OF MAN TO MODERN IDEALS THAT ARE WINNER FOR THE ECONOMY AND CONVIENT FOR PEOPLE. IF WE HAVE COMPENTENT THINK SCIENTIST WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT OR WORKING TO RESOLVE AUTOMOTIVE ISSUE FOR THE GOVERNMENT THEY'LL GET RESOLVE. WHAT I DON'T BUY IS MOST INVENTIONS ARE DEVELOPED BY THE MILITARY THEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC I BELIEVE DUE TO ISSUE LIKE WOMEN BECOME MORE INDEPENDANT DUE TO MODERN INVENTIONS AND BLACKS THE GOVERNMENT HAS HELD BACK TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD HAVE REVELUTIONIZE THE CAR INDUSTRY. THE IDEALS HAVE BEEN BORN AND ARE OUT THERE WE JUST NEED PEOPLE THAT ARE FREE ENOUGH IN THEIR BELEIVE TO EXPLORE THE MATRIX OF INVENTIONS.... ONE EXAMPLE FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY


YVETTE

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blue comment bubble Posted by LarryP on June 02, 2008 at 09:58 PM EDT

Ye , right . Let me get my wallet out .

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ari Herzog on June 03, 2008 at 11:49 PM EDT

Since you're talking about hybrid vehicles, why didn't you buy one? Why spring for a Toyota Matrix?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Jake on June 04, 2008 at 08:32 AM EDT

Good question Ari,

A hybrid was a couple thousand bucks out of my price range. I thought about putting a bit more of cash into a car, but I use public transportation so my car is more of a "weekend getaway car." Also I don't know how much repair costs I would have to put into a hybrid long term. Does anyone who has one have the experience with repair costs, etc.?

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blue comment bubble Posted by HYBRID CARS on June 04, 2008 at 11:09 AM EDT

A HYBRID VECHILE WOULD BE TO EXPENSIVE FOR ME, I USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ALSO, BUT I JUST MAY HAVE TO GET TWO JOBS AND BUY ONE ANYWAY

AND GET THE POCKET BOOK OUT...

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blue comment bubble Posted by Barnacle Bill on June 05, 2008 at 10:40 AM EDT

Many people, like the one above (liking the Chevvy Volt), Don't stop to think about the source of that power for the "plug-in".

That Electric Power comes from the coal or oil fired generator plant down the street that has billows of smoke/soot/sulphur gases being discharged into the atmosphere. There are numerous ways to determine how much fuel MUST be burned to recharge the batterys of the Volt - one equates 746 watts of electric power equals ONE horsepower of mechanical energy/power. Another says that 42.42 BTU/min equals ONE horsepower. Heat/smoke and pollutants equals electric horsepower.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Jerry Dill on June 23, 2008 at 05:00 PM EDT

Hybrid vehicles are very expensive in the long run do to so many maintenance problems. I would suggest purchasing a really fuel efficient car. Usually the smaller the car the better the fuel economy.

Hydrogen powered vehicles I believe will also be the next form of energy. Unfortunately now hydrogen power is extremely expensive to create and it is destructive on the environment because it requires that you use a lot of electricity. If we can find a more efficient way I believe it can be done but not for another five to six years or more.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Randys revolutionized fuel deal on July 06, 2008 at 07:20 PM EDT

The hydrogen generator doesn't use electricity from an outside sorce, it makes it's own electricity from the generator that keeps the battery charged. If you look up hydrogen garage on the web, you will find that it is the up and coming fuel for the world. It burns cleaner, it makes it's fuel right there under the hood of your car, truck, boat, or desiel trucks. It fits in a place under your hood that can be hooked up to the exsisting componants of your gas engine and electrical system. You can download this information and build the thing your self for less than 300.00 dollars and about a weeks time if you get the right stuff to build it with. It never quits producing hydrogen , and doesnt have to have a holding tank to store it. The best thing about it is that you don't have to get rid of your suv
s and big trucks cause you can make it get as much milage as you want with the # or size of cells you build to put under the hood. I've got two built right now and they put out more hydrogen than I ever expected.

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