What should come next – hybrid, hydrogen, or other?

[Garibaldi]

This is obviously a big issue today with the high gas prices and other economic factors. What do you think should come next? What type of technology should be in tommorrow’s cars on the road? Is the hybrid – gas/electric combo – the solution and should we work towards better and better mpg, or should we move away from gas now completely and work with hydrogen, even if we can’t make it completely stable. After all gasoline isn’t exactly nonreactive. Or should we turn in another direction, like nuclear powered cars (there’s a thought 😯 ) or just stick with a modified and improved internal combustion engine?

Topic

[Anonymous]

I think we need to move away from gas completely. IMO it would solve a lot of problems and the U.S. needs to break away from depending on other countries for oil.

[Garibaldi]

Exactly, that’s a whole other factor – how our vehicles are making us dependent

[Anonymous]

Hydrogen is the answer. Very clean! Furthermore we wouldn’t be dependent on foreign countries. Maybe we should all stock up on water before it becomes $2.50 per gallon. 😯

[Garibaldi]

Quote:

Hydrogen is the answer. Very clean! Furthermore we wouldn’t be dependent on foreign countries. Maybe we should all stock up on water before it becomes $2.50 per gallon. 😯

Drogar-Laugh(LBG).gif

I’ll buy a spring right now, clear gold!!! jumpy.gif

[Anonymous]

Aren’t the hybrids very expensive to buy?

[Anonymous]

I think hybrids are more practical. The implications of redoing the infrastructure to support hydrogen would be astronomical. Imagine retrofiting thousands of gasstations….. 😯 😯 😯

[Garibaldi]

Quote:

Aren’t the hybrids very expensive to buy?

Not really, they go for around 20 somewhere, which is what a lot of average cars go for nowadays

[Anonymous]

Plus insurance companies are apparently starting to offer discounts for hybrid owners.

[Garibaldi]

Yep, another incentive to get a more fuel-efficient vehicle

[Anonymous]

Diesel is the way to go.
Great milage, and the modern twin turbo models in Europe offer gasoline engine performance with way better milage.
Their are 2 things keeping them from the US though, one is that US diesel fuel is dirtier than European fuel (though our standards will meet theirs in a few years) and they do not meet US emissions, though I would think a 50 mpg engine that polutes a bit more is better in the long run than a slightly less polluting engine that gets 25.
Plus you can run bio fuel in them.
I was reading in last months Car and Driver about using certian types of algea to make bio-diesel that is simpler and cheaper than using corn or soy.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. Electric cars just move the pollution elsewhere. Hybrid cars just aren’t as efficient in the real world as they are in Advert Land.

Diesels are efficient and can plug the gap until new technologies can be developed.

I’ll miss the smell of petrol and the noise of a proper engine, though.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

the noise of a proper engine, though.

Actually thats a safety hazard of an electric or hydrogen car. Without the traditional throaty sound of an engine you lose that extra sense of where cars are on the road (ie the BLINDSPOT). Imagine hydro motorcycles silently sneaking up on you on a road out of nowhere.

I would imagine they’d have to augment them with some kind of noise maker to act as an auditory alert.

[Garibaldi]

Quote:

I would imagine they’d have to augment them with some kind of noise maker to act as an auditory alert.

That would be interesting, I’m sure people would start customizing them to their own preferences Drogar-Laugh(LBG).gif

[Anonymous]

I’d hate to lose the sound that American cars make. You know the noise I mean. That deep, loud barking.

(TVRs still sound nicer, though! 😉 )

[Garibaldi]

I agree, that deep throaty sound along with the smell of racing fuel in the morning is just irreplaceable!!

[Author]

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