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All There is To Know About Alternative Vehicle Choices (part 1)

Our emphasis here at eCycleGroup is to share different persepectives on all kinds of sustainable and eco-friendly subjects, so we thought it might be useful to identify some pros and cons of the alternative engine choices available now and promised to come to market in the future. There’s a lot to digest here, so we’re breaking it into two segments, with part two to follow next week.

This week, we’ll focus on emerging automotive technologies. Next week, we’ll discuss the fuels themselves.

Hydrogen:
I’ve had several opportunities to drive Chevy’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Equinox and it offers excellent performance. If I had a couple million dollars, I would absolutely build a 700-bar Hydrogen fueling station in my neighborhood to help create one tiny piece of the infrastructure required to support this emerging technology. While Eeperts suggest urban areas should have enough Hydrogen fuel stations located close enough to each other so that users will have ready access to fuel, even building just 100 fueling stations around Los Angeles would require an investment of 200 million dollars. And as if that’s not enough, the prohibitive cost of producing the fuel cells themselves puts the feasibility of this choice far into the future. Hydrogen-powered vehicles have been manufactured by BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota. Can you buy one? Some are available in specialized fleets, but none are yet for sale to the general public.

Electric:
We’ve all heard about the Tesla electric car and are amazed by the performance (0 to 60 in four seconds) promised by this battery-operated sports car, but did you know that it is powered by more than 6800 lithium-ion computer batteries? Besides being incredibly expensive ($98,000) have you considered how the battery performance of your laptop degrades over time and how this is likely to transfer to the performance of that little car? And where will all those little batteries go after they lose their effectiveness? Again, this car is too expensive and impractical to be considered a viable option for the average consumer.

Mini even has transformed a version of its beloved Cooper: The MINI E will be powered by a 204 hp electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly without a sound and entirely free of emissions. The vehicle promises a range of more than 150 miles per charge, and an abundance of Mini styling as well.

2011 Chevrolet Volt Production Show Car In the last year, Chevy has been testing the first batches of batteries developed specifically to power its extended range electric vehicle: the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The new Global Battery Systems Lab will lead GM’s global advanced battery engineering resources and expedite the introduction of electrically driven vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt, as well as plug-in hybrid and hybrid-electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. This plug-in vehicle promises emission-free travel for about 40 miles on one charge, with additional range made possible by a secondary gasoline engine. Research shows more than 75 percent of drivers in the United States commute fewer than 40 miles a day, and for these drivers, a fully-charged Chevy Volt will use no gas and produce no tailpipe emissions. Chevy is expecting these vehicles will be available to consumers by 2010 with a price point between $30K to $40k. In fact, the first pre-production testers have been seen on streets in the Detroit area. This vehicle promises the greatest value to commuters who travel short distance and have access to a common 110-volt electrical outlet, so apartment and condo dwellers will have to make other charging arrangements.

The electricity required to charge plug-in vehicles such as the Tesla, Mini-E, and Volt can come from a number of energy sources – including renewable ones such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biofuels – or from traditional sources such as natural gas, coal, nuclear, or even gasoline. The source from which the electricity is manufactured is largely determined by the region in which the user lives, and how their utility company contracts for power. Residents of Idaho, for instance, use electricity created largely by the region’s hydroelectric powerplants; while residents of Pennsylvania use electricity created by burning coal. The true benefit to the environment must be measured by how your region procures its electricity; the emissions won’t be coming out of your tailpipe, but they will be coming out of the plant that produces the electricity.

Hybrid Electric/Gasoline Powerplants:
Among the most familiar eco-friendly choices, hybrid engine technology combines gasoline and electric power to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions. This technology is currently offered by Chevy, Ford, Honda, Lexus, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota, Mazda, and Mercury. Most hybrid drivers realize the best improvements in stop-and-go around-town driving, so breakeven of purchase cost versus fuel savings depends largely on each owner’s driving style. Most experts say a hybrid can take five to ten years to pay for itself.