Whats more likely to happen, electric cars or a different fuel?

Question

What is more likely to happen, a new fuel is found are/or different ways of producing it and piston engined cars are powered by this better fuel similar to the way it is now or electric cars? Obviously both are going to happen but which is going to completely take over the auto industry in the future? This is excluding possibility of hybrids.

Answer 1

fission quest

Answer 2

Far more efficient gas/desiel cars!

One German engineer took an off the line Mercedes-Benz and with a few modifications, was able to make it get 45+mph at a cost of about $3000.

It included some lighter components, removing the side view mirrors (in favor of cameras) to reduce friction, and a few engine modifications.

In the final analysis, different fuel will be neccessary for heavy industry to continue.  fortunatley the price of petrol is rising to the point where different fuels will be an economic necessity, but will also be economically viable

Answer 3

Electric cars.  There are already many low-speed electric cars available, and starting in 2009 there will be some really nice and relatively affordable high-speed long-distance EVs.

http://zapworld.com/electric-vehicles

http://www.milesev.com/

http://phoenixmotorcars.com/

Plus most of the major auto companies (most notably Chevy and Toyota) are currently working on plug-in hybrids, which are just one step away from pure electric vehicles.  I would guess that within the next 10-15 years the major auto companies will start to produce EVs.  It only took them about 10 years to go from hybrids to plug-in hybrids (assuming the Chevy Volt comes out in 2010 as scheduled), and plug-ins have all the technology necessary to become EVs.

We already have all the infrastructure we need to refuel EVs, other than installing high-voltage quick recharge stations.  The power grid is already set up, however.  In terms of environmental issues, studies have shown that even with the current US power grid mix (52% of which comes from coal), EVs would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from regular gas cars and even hybrids.

http://www.pluginamerica.com/images/Emis...

And over time our power grid will become greener.

Another feasible alternative is hydrogen cars.  However, there are some major obstacles to its development - the main one being a lack of infrastructure.  It would cost billions of dollars to set up a hydrogen fueling infrastructure for its transportation and storage, and who's going to put up that money?  On top of that, we still don't have a cheap and environmentally friendly method of getting hydrogen.

I think eventually hydrogen powered cars will probably see a share of the transportation market, but electric cars are going to capture most of the market first.

Another option is biodiesel.  The problem with biodiesel is that there's only so much agricultural land we can devote to fuel crops.  One study showed that if all the agricultural land in the UK were devoted to fuel crops, it would only provide 20% of their transportation fuel needs.  Then there's that pesky problem of not having any food.

The more biofuels we grow, the less land there is for food crops, and the higher the price of food.  So on a large scale, biofuels are not the answer.

Answer 4

Cellulosic Ethanol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_...

Alcohol made from any plant material.  

It'll be a good way to get rid of non-native invasive plant life.

The only way we could switch to total electric cars is to supply our electricity from nuclear power.  And what are the chances of that?

Answer 5

robot ninjas is the most likely answer.

Answer 6

Well, to take your last point first--hybrids are really nothing but a marketing gimmic.  There's nothing"wrong" with them--they do reduce fuel consumption.  Its jsut a ridiculously expensive way to do it when you can build cheaper cars that get jsut as good mileage with efficient gasoline engines.

As for the future--here's my estimate: electric.  The reasons are basically simple:

>alternative fuel cars would (based on what we know) be either biofuels or hydrogen.  the first is workable--but there's no way for us to produce that much biofuel without causing massive impact on the ecology worldwide.  And, unless wedeelop some very innovative technology tha tisn't in the offing, it is NOT carbon neutral--though it does reduce the "carbonfootprint" considerably.

Hydrogen presents technical problems--ones tha twill take years to solve. Mainly this involves how to store enough hydrogen on a car to give it a decent range.  also, hyddrogen is currently obtained from oil.  The alternative--electrolysis--could becomeccost effective.  But to use electricity to break down water for its hydorogen you have to have to produce the electricity first.

My guess-when we reach the point of producing that much electricity without using oil or coal to do it (by solar power, for instance) and can do it cost-effectively--you might as well use that electricity to power electric cars.  We already know how to build them, with enough range for urban driving and short tirps--and do so at reasonable cost.  Going to hydrogen would jsut be an expensive complication.

The real key we need is large scale cost-deffective alternative means of generating the electricity in the first place.  But--the technology for that ( or technologies, raher--there are several) are either already working (wind, for example) or on the verge of becoming highly competitive 9such as new tidal power and solar array technologies now in development).

Answer 7

One HUGE myth about electric cars is that they are "zero emission"...  

The car itself might be zero emission, but I can almost guarantee that somewhere, someplace, emissions are being spewed into the atmosphere where the electricity is being generated to charge the electric car's batteries...  In fact, it's a pretty good bet that the electricity used to charge the batteries of an electric car is generated by burning coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, or nuclear...with only a slight chance of solar or wind generation stations providing the electricity.  

But that's just a minor, inconvenient truth that the rabid environmentalists don't want to recognize...

Answer 8

Electric cars look the most hopefull but they also threaten big oil the most because then you could re-charge your car at home on or off the grid...it would take big oil out of the auto equation as far as fuel goes!

Alternative fuel patents are being bought up as fast as they happen by big oil, and the few left (ethanol) they will control.

Electric is the future if you want to be free of big oil and their greedy, gouging and polluting ways!

Answer 9

Neither, petroleum will remain the primary transportation fuel for the foreseeable future