In the know: The automotive future

The Alternative Fuel Conference will be held in Orlando, Florida.
Why focus on this conference when the New York International
Auto Show is running? Well, anytime we are talking about the
automotive future, it is worth knowing about!

The following prototypes and early production vehicles allow you
to be in the know and see into the future.

When looking into the future, we are talking about fuel efficiency
in a big way! Let’s compare these fuel-efficient vehicles. Which
one will you be driving?

The Honda Clarity fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen to
electricity. This car gets an equivalent of 74 mpg. It has a range
of 280 miles per tank of hydrogen and zero emissions. At present,
the car is leased at $600 per month and this does not cover the cost
of production. Additionally, hydrogen filling stations are only
available at a few locations in California.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 burns hydrogen or petrol in its internal
combustion engine. This vehicle emits some emissions and it
gets about 30 miles per gallon. The car is costly at over $100,000.
Again, hydrogen filling stations are an issue.

The Chevrolet Volt has lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged
at home. It is able to run up to 40 miles on pure electricity. A small
internal combustion engine run a generator to make additional
electricity and extend the driving range. The car will cost $40,000
and the reliability of the lithium-ion batteries might be an issue.
After the 40 mile run, the car has some emissions.

The Toyota Prius Plug-in has lithium-ion batteries can be recharged
at home. The car’s range is extended by a small gasoline engine
that is used to generate electricity. This car makes some emissions
but it has obtained a good reliability record. The price is considered
to be affordable at about $20,000.

The Tesla and Fisker Karma are completely electric cars that use
lithium-ion batteries and make no emissions. The cars have good
performance and a relatively good driving range. Both cars are
expensive at close to $100,000.

So how do these fuel-efficient vehicles stack up? Well, the Toyota
Prius plug in seems to offer the best bang for the buck. If Honda
can get the price of the Clarity fuel cell down, I think it will lead
this pack as it has no internal combustion engine (say good-bye to
the exhaust system, cooling system, spark plugs, etc.) no emissions,
and good reliability.