Gas prices and global warming are driving Americans to consider investing in alternative-fueled vehicles. Before you buy your next automobile, you might want to take a look at greener vehicles that will soon be available in our country.

HYBRID HISTORY

In 1999, Honda Motors Co. Ltd. Introduced the Insight, the first mass-produced, gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle sold in the United States. The Insight, a compact, earned EPA mileage estimate of 70 mpg and the title of most fuel-efficient car on the market.

In 2000, the Toyota Motor Corp. introduced the next hybrid to reach market. The midsize Prius, with EPA estimated mileage of 50 mpg, quickly outsold the Insight and remains the most popular hybrid on the U.S. market

Today, there are many hybrids on the market, but few can touch the Prius in fuel economy. Aftermarket improvements on the Prius include an updated battery pack that will boost mileage to 100 mpg by allowing it to be plugged into an electric outlet. The drawbacks on this plug-in kit are that it voids Toyota warrantees, is expensive and requires installation by a trained mechanic.

ELECTRIC SOLUTION

Purely electric cars were introduced in 1950s with the Henney Kilowatt. Low gas prices kept sales slow until General Motors Corp. upgraded the design to the EV-01. Although very popular, and pricey, GM pulled the EV-01 off the market and destroyed its entire inventory causing many to speculate on the company's motives.

Nissan seems to have picked up where GM left off with the planned introduction of the EV-02 Cube in 2012. Nissan's electric car will have a range of more than 100 miles between overnight charges. This is accomplished by making batteries flat and more compact.

This improvement solves the main problem with electric cars, which historically had been their limited range of only 30 miles between charges. New electric cars are being designed that might even act as storage units for the electrical grid system. They will feed back electricity to the grid during times of peak demand, like when their owners are sitting in air-conditioned offices during midday heat.

SUN AND WIND

Solar cars would be electric vehicles directly powered by solar panels attached to the car. So far, solar engineers have yet to overcome the pitfalls of collecting enough energy from the sun to power a car for great distances at highway speeds.

The combined weight of batteries and solar panels has made it impractical so far to get an economically feasible solar-powered car on the road. Inventive racers in the World Solar Challenge and the North American Solar Challenge, sponsored by the United States Department of Energy, could solve these shortcomings.

Some automakers have small-scale electric cars that can be plugged into solar arrays to recharge.

Most of these cars are not yet street legal. But it might only be a short time before we see plug-in electric vehicles that can be charged by solar- or wind-powered generators, creating the cleanest and greenest vehicles on the market.

AIR POWER

Compressed-air engines are emissions-free piston engines invented by Frenchman Guy N?gre in the 1990s. Compressed-air vehicles use pressurized air through a conventional fuel injection system to power the vehicle carrying four or five passengers for up to 100 miles.

The only exhaust is cold air, which could be re-circulated as air conditioning. A tank of air would cost about $3, and take about three minutes at a service station. The downside is finding a service station with the equipment to compress air to the required density.

Compressed-air vehicles are not scheduled for release in the United States, but are expected to be available in the next few years in Europe and Central America.

URBAN LEGEND

Water-powered vehicles are just an urban legend at this point with each example turning out to be either a hydrogen-fueled car, or a fraud. A kit can be purchased online for less than $50 that claims to improve fuel efficiency of gasoline-powered engines by injecting water into the mix, but that claim has yet to be proven scientifically. The only water-powered car that has been on the American market was actually a steam-powered car called the Stanley Steamer in 1906.

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

Hydrogen-powered cars are mainly electric cars powered by an onboard fuel cell that generates electricity through a hydrogen/oxygen reaction. The benefits are no carbon emissions, because the fuel cell only emits heat and water.

Ford Motor Corp. has already manufactured a fleet of fuel-celled Focus, proving that fuel cell vehicles can be mass-produced. However, there is still the problem of hydrogen infrastructure and the lack of refilling stations and lightweight hydrogen storage. At well over $50,000, fuel-cell cars are also exorbitantly expensive putting them out of the price range of the average consumer.

NATURAL GAS

Compressed Natural Gas cars use mainly methane, a byproduct of landfills, to fuel normal combustion engines instead of gasoline. Combustion of methane produces the least amount of carbon emissions of all fossil fuels. Most gasoline cars can be retrofitted to run on both natural gas and gasoline. There are already an estimated 5 million CNG vehicles running worldwide, including cars like the Honda Civic.

General Motors released a multi-fuel vehicle in Brazil that runs on CNG, ethanol, and regular gas. The same motor was used in the Chevy Astra by the taxi industry. Drawbacks include finding refueling stations, and getting major automakers to release these cars to U.S. markets.

Shawn Dell Joyce is a sustainable artist and activist living in a green home in the Mid-Hudson region of New York. Contact her by e-mail at Shawn@ShawnDellJoyce.com To find out more about Shawn Dell Joyce and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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