When the subject of fuel-efficiency comes up, thoughts tend to shift immediately to hybrids, if not to full-electric vehicles. Even so, despite all the hybrid publicity over the past decade - and the surge of interest during 2008 when gasoline prices skyrocketed - hybrids account for only a small portion of vehicle sales. Electric vehicles made up a far tinier share of the total. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, real improvements in overall fuel-efficiency will have to stem from other sources.
Let's take a look at the possibilities:
1. Hybrids: Yes, hybrids get the most attention when the talk comes to fuel-thrifty vehicles. That's partly because of their sheer numbers, compared to other alternative-fuel cars.
Currently, close to 20 hybrid-powertrain models are on sale, or coming soon. Toyota and its Lexus luxury division lead the pack by far, with seven. Honda produces two, including the new Insight hatchback. Ford has four, including the highly-publicized Fusion Hybrid sedan.
Hybrids consist of a comparatively small gasoline engine that works in tandem with an electric motor (or motors). A battery pack provides electricity for the motor, or it can be supplied by the gasoline engine, working as a generator. Dual-mode (parallel) hybrids can work on either gasoline or electric power, or both together. A computer determines the best balance between the two, depending on driving conditions. Parallel hybrids can typically run for a short distance using battery power alone, with the gasoline engine shut off completely.
Some hybrids on the market are still series-type hybrids. These cannot run on battery power alone. Partly for that reason, their fuel economy isn't nearly as appealing.
Toyota currently leads the fuel-economy race, with its redesigned 2010 Prius. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gives it an estimate of 51 mpg in city driving and 48 mpg on the highway. Honda's new-for-2010 Insight hatchback falls somewhat short of that estimate, at 40/43 mpg (city/highway). Other hybrids, including the new Lexus HS, are even less thrifty.
Fuel economy of certain hybrids isn't all that much greater than a comparable gasoline-engine model. Several current hybrid powertrains are installed in big SUVs, or even full-size pickup trucks. Every little bit helps, but even when driven gently, heavyweight hybrids aren't going to get phenomenal gas mileage.
Hybrids have no range limitation. If the battery is too far discharged to power the electric motor, the vehicle runs on the gasoline engine alone until sufficient recharging has taken place. Thus, the only practical range limit is determined by the size of the gasoline tank.
2. Plug-in hybrids: Publicized often lately, these could be more hype than reality. Chevrolet, in particular, has garnered immense publicity for its Volt, even though that model - unveiled at Detroit's auto show in January 2006, won't go on sale until sometime in 2010. Some critics aren't even sure that will happen, especially considering the state of GM's financial operation at this point, with the corporation mired in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. But the technology does exist, and some aftermarket companies have already produced a few examples for demonstration and even for sale.
Strictly speaking, the Volt is considered a "range-extender" electric automobile, rather than simply a plug-in hybrid. Both systems allow plugging into a conventional AC outlet for recharging, at either 110 or 220 volts. In some systems, once the charging takes place, the vehicle functions like a regular hybrid, alternating between gasoline and battery power. Chevrolet advises that the Volt runs on the battery for up to 40 miles. At that point, when the battery is approaching discharge, the gasoline engine goes into action, serving as a charging generator. Thus, the Volt always runs on battery power.
3. Full-Electrics: All-electric operation is hardly a new idea, of course. In fact, electric cars date back to the dawn of the automobile age, when such makes as Detroit and Baker appeared ready to overtake the internal-combustion gasoline engine as the primary power source for American vehicles. By the time Henry Ford launched his Model T, in 1908, electrics were on the way out, though a few hung on into the 1930s. Electric cars had a resurgence in the 1970s, when a number of small manufacturers turned out small, limited-production models that ran on batteries. Some of them sold in respectable numbers, but nearly every company faded away after a few years.
Early in the 1990s, General Motors had its EV1 electric car ready for production, and for leasing to several thousand eager customers. Most EV1 lessees loved their electric cars, and were aghast when GM decided to take them all back, rather than let their owners buy or re-lease them for longer periods. Electric cars have been around in small numbers all along, most often developed by minor manufacturers or converted from an existing conventional vehicle. BMW's Mini division is now leasing (for a hefty monthly payment) a handful of Mini E electrics, in California and the New York area. Several automakers promise full-electric cars soon, including Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Most drivers are wary, especially about range limits. Many recent electrics have been limited to less than 100 miles on a charge. Some can go farther, but not by much. Even if the owner only drives, say, 50 miles per day while commuting, there's a concern about what happens if, for some reason, a longer trip suddenly becomes necessary. Not many charging stations exist, and charge times (especially at 110 volts) can run 10 hours or more.
4. Internal-combustion engine: Efficient gasoline engines are likely to be at least part of the fuel-efficiency solution in the near future, simply because they're most familiar. Though considerable improvement has been made in average fuel economy over the past three decades, since the first CAF standard came into play, engineers insist that technology can improve a lot more. Adopting smaller engines is one big step. Making the best use of available technologies, such as variable valve and cam timing, is another. Reducing vehicle weight can make a considerable difference, but some safety advocates argue that lighter-weight cars are more vulnerable in accidents.
Transmissions matter, too. Traditionally, manual-shift cars were more frugal than those with an automatic transmsisions, due to losses within the automatic unit. That's not necessarily so, anymore. Some automatic-transmission models garner better EPA fuel-economy estimates than their stick-shift brethren.
Gas guzzlers are still around, but some smaller cars provide mileage that approaches what a hybrid can deliver.
5. Diesel: After staying above the price of gasoline through last winter, diesel fuel has gotten cheaper. In most areas, by late spring of 2009, diesel costs 10 or 20 cents less per gallon than gasoline. Price isn't what keeps diesel from catching on, though. Diesel engines are still mistrusted by much of the public - including people who remember some of the nastier diesel models of the past. Today's diesels, running on the now-mandated "clean" diesel fuel, are far removed from the noisy, clattering, smoky versions of yesteryear. Most of them function nicely and frugally. Auto journalists and industry people tend to love them because they deliver abundant low-end torque for energetic acceleration, rather than strictly for their higher miles-per-gallon figures.
Nearly every automaker has been working on diesels for the U.S. That's because nearly all of them produce diesel-engine vehicles for sale elsewhere in the world. In Europe, where fuel prices are far higher, diesel power has been favored for decades, largely because of its thriftier nature. Today, only a handful of German manufacturers - Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW - market diesel cars in the U.S.
6. Future Possibilities: Just about everyone has heard the call for a hydrogen-based economy, using fuel-cell vehicles. A few years back, it sounded like hydrogen-based fuel cells were practically on their way into the markerplace. Except for Honda, which offers an FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle to selected customers in California, nearly all the fuel-cell vehicles running around are experimental or demonstration models. Few steps have been taken toward a hydrogen infrastructure, comparable to the one that now provides gasoline at virtually every other street corner.
So, are fuel-cell cars fantasy or still potential reality? At this point, no one can say for sure.
Many motorists and industry people alike appear to be waiting for a "silver bullet," in the form of a new fuel or technology that will make all these concerns moot. Trouble is, we can't dismiss the possibility of a virtually "magic" solution at that point. Some scientist or engineer out there, or even a techno-skilled hobbyist, just might be on the verge of a breakthrough, or be on the road to creating something startling one of these days. But if we sit and wait for that to appear, we'll be in big trouble when fuel prices again begin to soar upward, or supplies begin to dwindle.
Most of all, we need a cohesive combination of technologies and modified driving behavior, along with cooperation between each sector. Meanwhile, there are other possibilities that most of us prefer to ignore:
7. Mass Transit: Public transit is almost invariably overlooked as part of the equation, or scoffed at by motorists who wouldn't consider riding a train or bus. In reality, though, making mass transit more extensive and more appealing makes the world a better place for all of us - including the most ardent drivers, who would benefit from less-crowded roads. High-speed rail systems are being considered, if not developed, for a number of regions around the country. They could, and should, be part of the infrastructure-development element in the Obama Administration's economic stimulus program. But "selling" the need for enhanced mass transit to hardened opponents isn't an easy task.
8. Don't Drive: Few drivers want to hear that one. It's a bit like abstinence being the single 100-percent sure way to avoid pregnancy: Hard to abide by, but obviously effective. But all of us can at least drive less, if not turn in the car for a new bicycle. We can also drive slower. Despite the self-serving claims by lawbreaking speeders among us, slowing down does save fuel. Plenty of it.
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