Alternative Fuels
Ethanol, Hydrogen, and Electricity
As gas prices rise, auto companies are making more fuel-efficient vehicles, but what we need the most is an alternative fuel. Some auto companies are researching alternative fuels. GM, for example, has put a number of different vehicles into production that use E-85 Ethanol, which is 85% Ethanol and 15% gasoline. Also, they are experimenting with hydrogen-powered vehicles that use no petroleum, and instead use hydrogen cells to propel the vehicle. If you remember last issue’s Steering Column, GM is actually putting these zero-emission vehicles to the test, with real, road-working Chevy Equinox. Also, Toyota and GM are using electricity to power their vehicles. Toyota’s Prius, uses gas and electricity, as does Chevy’s future concept car, the Volt, which starts production in 2009 as a 2010 model year.
E-85
E-85 a blend of 15% gasoline and 85% Ethanol which is a renewable fuel that can be made from U.S. grown corn. This is a great fuel alternative, because it reduces emissions and our dependence on petroleum. It also improves vehicle performance, because it has a higher octane than regular gasoline, which improves the vehicles’ horsepower and torque. And because it uses U.S. grown corn, it also helps support the domestic agriculture industry.
Auto companies that have E-85 compatible vehicles are Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Isuzu, Mazda, Mercedes, and Nissan. To see if your car is E-85 compatible go to e85fuel.com
Hydrogen
Hydrogen vehicles use hydrogen cells as an energy to fuel vehicles. Hydrogen right now is very fragile and lots of bugs need to be worked out before it can be used as an efficient fuel, such as freezing conditions. However, scientists are getting closer and closer to solving all these problems, and in the not-so-far future we may be using gas-free vehicles that produce nothing but water. This will be great for the environment and greatly reduce our dependency on oil.
Electricity
Electric Vehicles take advantage of electricity to power their engines by means of high-powered, rechargeable batteries and gasoline as a backup to the electric motors. The Toyota Prius uses electric technology along with gasoline to power its 76hp engine. However, a new vehicle from GM might be the death of the invincible Prius. The new Chevy Volt, with an electric engine can reach up to 40 miles. Although 40 miles may not seem too impressive, studies show that more than 78% of Americans drive less than 40 miles per day. That means that an average driver could commute every day and never utilize a drop of gasoline. What if you travel for more than 40 miles? Well, the rechargeable, electric engine will recharge itself “from” the gasoline engine, which kicks on once the battery loses charge. The overall gas mileage would end up being 150mpg on 60-mile trips, and for long drives it will get an estimated 50mpg, and have a range of more than 640 miles. For interests sake, the gasoline engine would run on E-85, gasoline, or bio-diesel. According to Motor Trend, this vehicle will begin production in 2009.
Truths About:
Consumer Reports Magazine
Consumer Reports recently put out a car issue titled The Best and Worst cars of 08’. Not being a subscriber, I bought the magazine from the store. I found some very disappointing things in this magazine, and thought that it would be the right thing to share them with you, especially those that read the issue.
First, on page 5 of the magazine, there are a list of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Under Small Cars, there are a list of small cars that also get great gas mileage, including the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris. The problem here are that the Chevy Aveo didn’t make the list, which is odd because it gets the same gas mileage (maybe even better) than the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit. No American made small car was on the list. Next on the list are Midsize and large Sedans. Some cars on the list are the Toyota Camry Hybrid and Nissan Altima. Again, no American car made the list, even though the new Chevy Malibu Hybrid gets 32mpg, just 2mpg less than the Camry Hybrid, and 7mpg more than the Altima. Next were the SUVs; the only American car was the Jeep Compass. This was also disturbing because the Ford Escape Hybrid did not make the list. In fact the Ford Escape Hybrid is the most fuel efficient SUV on the market. Also, the Saturn VUE hybrid did not make the list, which is right behind the Ford Escape in mpg. Why are American vehicles not making this list? Equally conspicuous, there was no section for trucks. My guess is that they skipped this category because there are no foreign trucks that get better gas mileage than their American counterparts.
So I went on to read reviews on some cars. I expected them (the writers of the magazine) to commend Chevy on the Aveo and its gas mileage, but no. They said it had “disappointing gas mileage”. This shocked me. So I went to look at the Honda Fit which is comparable to the Aveo. They said that the Fit gets “an impressive 34mpg”. Another shocking statement, because the Aveo also gets 34mpg. What gives? Is Consumer Reports really “Independent”? I recommend that anyone who reads Consumer Reports Cars should switch immediately to reading Motor Trend Magazine. Motor Trend offers real expert writers and reports, and is unbiased in their reviews. Motor Trend Magazine puts Consumer Reports Cars to shame.
Toyota
Toyota has used the Prius to put on an image; namely that of being an auto company that is dedicated to helping the environment and easing the pain of gas prices. The truth is that Toyota opposes many different laws that would require better gas mileage for vehicles. Also while they produce good fuel economy cars, like the Prius and Camry, they also produce gas-guzzlers, like the Tundra and Sequoia, which gets an EPA, estimated 18mpg hwy. So while Toyota makes fuel economic cars, it also makes gas-guzzlers, so don’t assume that all Toyota’s vehicles get good fuel economy.
If you have any comments, questions, or complaints, please e-mail or IM me. I would be happy to hear any feedback.
