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.

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