Fuel Efficiency: Is it Actually Improving?

While doing research for a paper about oil I came across some interesting facts about cars and their fuel mileage. In recent years due to the drastic increases in gas prices many people have been switching to FlexFuel cars. These cars run on a fuel called E-85 which is a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% petroleum (Here is a link to an article about FlexFuel cars). 

People tend to think that FlexFuel is a recent technology but I was surprised to learn that that is not exactly true. The first FlexFuel car was actually a version of the Model T Ford made in 1908. In addition to that, I was equally surprised to learn that the original Model T actually achieved better fuel mileage than a 2008 Ford pick up truck. Henry Ford predicted the transition to alternate fuel sources a while ago. He said in an interview with the New York Times "The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit... There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented." The idea of using corn and other produce as a means to fuel cars with clean burning alcohol is not a new one, but for some reason it has not become a popular way to power cars. Ethanol burns very clean and in doing so lessens the harmful emissions that are being released into the atmosphere.

Even though the Model T and a Ford pick up are not really comparable interns of size and weight I would have expected that with a hundred years of technological advances we could have made our cars a little bit more efficient. 

For more information see link

http://eco-chick.com/2008/10/1467/1908-ford-model-t-vs-2008-ford-pick-up/

Hybrids

Hybrids have become a big deal in the past few years as people have been working towards living more "green" lives. People have different motives for buying hybrid vehicles, but most wish to save the environment, gas money or both. Unfortunately for consumers, hybrids are not always as appealing as they seem.


Nick Bunkley of the New York Times recently wrote an article on hybrid cars and the pros and cons about them (Article link here). He wrote "Gas would have to approach $8 a gallon before many of the cars could be expected to pay off in the six years an average person owns a car."Most hybrids contain so much technology that the cost to make it, both a cost is money and to the environment, takes so long to prove beneficial that by that time most people would already have gotten a new car. The hybrids that do pay for themselves in an acceptable amount of time are the Toyota Prius and the Lincoln MKZ. 

Another aspect of new auto technology that people often do not think of relates to electric cars. Electric cars are powered by battery packs. While this does provide a very clean source of energy, it makes the cars much more expensive in addition to leaving them with a very limited range they can travel. Electric cars may be a big part of the future, but as of right now people are worried that they might not change that much at all. Electric cars are charged by simply plugging them in. What people are concerned about, is hoe this electricity is often coming from coal or oil burning power plants. Until America is able to change its sources of energy, having an electric car may not really have the results you would want.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/04/08/3156923/hybrid-electric-car-owners-must.html#storylink=cpy