The automotive world is changing as drivers and others become more concerned about the environment. The impact of car exhaust, in particular, has come under examination by many scientific minds. A great many people in the scientific field believe that the exhaust produced by vehicles that use the internal combustion engine contributes to the recent warming of the Earth’s temperatures. As a result, there are a number of initiatives under way to alter how cars are powered and change what they emit as they function.
Fuel Additives
While many fuel additives are used to make cars run faster, the US government has mandated the use of certain control additives for cars. These additives improve fuel mileage minimally and thus contribute to less fuel consumption as a way to deter the effects of vehicle exhaust on the air.
Solar Powered Cars
The concept of a solar powered car has been around for a while. However, it is difficult to implement this idea. The power delivered by photovoltaic cells is limited to the amount of space they occupy. A typical car, even when completely covered in these impractical devices, does not generate enough power to operate as most cars are operated. However, there have been some developments in solar power use, such as recharging batteries with solar power and deriving a short period of gas-free operation.
Electric Cars
The electric car has gained a lot of attention recently and is probably the leading concept in the eventual replacement of gasoline-powered cars. None of these cars can operate extensively on electricity and most have gas tanks as well as batteries that they use to power the engine. Many of them can operate on battery power for a while and then recharge the battery as the car drives around later using its combustion engine.
Hydrogen Cars The hydrogen concept has never gotten very far. Hydrogen, though the most common element in the universe, still remains an expensive fuel. Furthermore, a hydrogen-powered vehicle creates greenhouse gases when burning hydrogen.
Hybrid Vehicles
There has been some advance in hybrid vehicles. A hybrid is any vehicle that uses gasoline and some other resource to power it. One of the most popular uses natural gas rather than the oil-based gasoline that others use.
The number of vehicle options increases every day. The gasoline-powered vehicle remains the most popular right now. Time will tell which replacement vehicle will win the day.
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Adam Saunders is a former auto mechanic who now helps run an auto salvage company in New York, and spends his spare time as a blogger and freelance writer.