Car Tech: What's your favorite alternative fuel?
- 4/24/07 5:45 PM
Hydrogen
by rfr88 - 5/2/07 11:11 PM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
the only long term relief from petroleum is hydrogen. The only clean fuel available. To go to hydrogen demands low cost energy and that will require nuclear power. Will the U.S. ever go there....probably not since Jane Fonda torpedoed the U.S. nuclear program.
bob
NOT Ethanol
by jmacster - 5/2/07 11:20 PM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
It's really sad that Bush is pushing for ethanol to replace much of the US need for oil. Why? Well, for one, US production of ethanol relies on corn (Brazil uses mostly sugar cane which is easier to process as it's sugars are more readily accessible and abundant than corn), which means less corn is available for cattle feed and human consumption. Our society is drenched in corn-based products and it's DISASTROUS to put corn in competition with crude oil. Just tonight a cattle rancher was interviewed on the news lamenting the doubling in cost for the corn he fed his cows, this is already pushing up the cost of beef, not to mention chickens. As well, all other crops will compete for valuable land as more and more acreage is converted for corn.
Hydrogen fuel cells should be the primary emphasis and of course electric for city-dwellers.
At some point, they'll have to bite the bullet and prevent people from owning massively heavy vehicles so that operating lighter vehicles won't be so dangerous as it is now.....some hard choices one way or another will have to be made and they'll hurt to the point that only govt. will be able to push them.
Don't forget bicycle power!!
Look at the Tesla Roadster
by hennom - 5/2/07 11:41 PM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
Here is the URL http://www.teslamotors.com
And the Specifications.
100% electric
0 - 60 in about 4 seconds
135 mpg equivalent
Over 200 miles per charge
about 1 cent per mile.
You can always use solar to charge it every night.
Ever drive more than 200 miles per day?
MY favorite quote of the week!!!!!!!!!!!
by dflipb - 5/3/07 2:51 AM In reply to: Look at the Tesla Roadster by hennom"You can always use solar to charge it every night. "
talking about the tesla.
This made me laugh for about 2o minutes. Good luck finding the sun to charge it at night. LOL 
moonlight!
by impala - 5/3/07 4:21 PM In reply to: MY favorite quote of the week!!!!!!!!!!! by dflipbDUDE, THEY USE MOONLIGHT!
Not quite an alternative fuel.....
by m4martini - 5/3/07 12:13 AM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
Hi Lee!
Your remarks on the price of fuel in the USA brought a wry grin to my face. If only I could find a gallon of gas for 4 bucks. Think yourself lucky. Petrol here in the UK is the equivalent of $8.20 a gallon!
Martin - Wales.
US is FAT and getting FATTER...
by robains - 5/3/07 4:51 PM In reply to: Not quite an alternative fuel..... by m4martiniYeah, exactly the problem -- but even at $8+ in the UK, cars are still used A LOT, probably A LOT more than they need to be. Recent survey's in the US indicated that at $5.75/gallon people would "think" about trading in their gas guzzler eco unfriendly SUV for a smaller vehicle. The same survey indicated it would be $11/gallon before people would consider driving less. This is in the US, so as you can see the oil companies have PLENTY of room to go in their prices and profits.
As for me, I'd love to see prices hit $11/gallon in the US -- but that would almost certainly be a catalyst for a civil war. But welcome to the US, where FAT people, FAT living, FAT vehicles are everywhere -- there ya go, maybe we can force anyone that is 50 lbs over weight (about 60% of the US population) to donate their fat which we can then use for fuel...
Aquygen?
by tsheffield - 5/3/07 12:13 AM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
I would invest in a small electric car if one was available that could provide me 20 - 25 miles per day. Otherwise, I'm putting my money on water. Aquygen. I continue to be intrigued by making hydrogen from water: http://hytechapps.com/
Plain Old Compressed Air
by BigDaddy69_77 - 5/3/07 12:41 AM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
New carbon fiber reinforced air tanks make the storage of high pressure air feasible and highly desirable. These cars will not only have no emissions and cost pennies on the dollar to "fuel" but they will filter and cool the air as they run and the pure, filtered air can be used as air conditioning inside the car!
My distant second choice would be hydrogen derived from seawater (which we are soon to have a tremendous overabundance of) and then methanol derived from hemp which would clean and oxygenate the air and enrich the soil in the growing and release no poisonous byproducts in the burning, not to mention producing super high quality protein in the seeds (better than soybeans, which rape the soil), higher quality fiber than cotton, a pure, sulfur free charcoal for burning and a lovely refined oil for all purposes petroleum is used for.
smokin too much hemp?
by impala - 5/3/07 4:24 PM In reply to: Plain Old Compressed Air by BigDaddy69_77"These cars will not only have no emissions and cost pennies on the dollar to "fuel""
IMPOSSIBLE. Where did all these compressed air ideas come from. It's thermodynamically impossible to be cheaper than batteries. Hydrogen isn't much better.
Saab BioPower Hybrid
by muzx - 5/3/07 1:02 AM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
This is the reality. 2.0 turbocharged 100% ethanol (E100) engine (FWD)combined with battery powered electric motor (RWD). Ok, it's not the final solution for long term, but the technology is ready to use and the fuel supply opportunities are groving quickly.
In Zero Emission mode (short distance, usually city trafic) it runs absolutely green with electric motor only while it still a full functional family car and fun to drive on highways with no fussil source used.
My favourite alternative fuel...
by Simon Masters - 5/3/07 1:07 AM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
...is stay at home and curl up with the EGF (extraordinary girl friend)
Just think it through a bit further
by mdtrot - 5/3/07 1:29 AM In reply to: What's your favorite alternative fuel? by wcunning
This is a very complex question and 'favorite' is a bad word here. There is, doubtless a 'right' solution or several of them in combination, but let's forget about favorites - that is the kind of unrestrained selfishness that got us where we are.
The problem is two-fold. Unless there is an almost immediate change in public attitudes, especially in the US, in another 50 years our children and/or grandchildren will probably have insufficient oil to allow for individual use of cars.
Second, the unrestrained use of fossil fuels *may* result in sufficient warming of the planet to submerge half of any coastal towns and cities - remember that one New Yorkers and San Franciscans. I say 'may' because the jury is still out, IMHO. The question is, are we happy to continue gas guzzling in spite of the worse possibility?
The first thing that occurs to me is that, when confronted with an external threat, one should try to find a way of turning it to our advantage. Several contributors to this discussion have mentioned the inefficiency of electrical conversion. If electricity is generated using fossil fuels, there is little or no benefit in using it as a fuel source.
However, if global warming is a reality, then clearly the earth is accumulating more energy. The trick, therefore, is to use the additional energy and, without burning, convert it to something that can drive the car. Solar power seems to me to be the best option, since the sun will always be there and is accessible over a much greater porportion of the earth's surface than, say, wave or wind power. Moreover, we are turning the problem back on itself.
A car that generate its own hydrogen from solar powered cells covering its roof and ran on sea water would fit the bill.
Now for the important bit. The problem, it seems to me, is not that we are hooked on our cars, but we are hooked on *performance*. An ultra low drag car design and a motor design that limits acceleration to very low levels could still allow fairly high speeds with very little energy input - and that might allow the hydrogen powered car to flourish. Instead of 0 - 60 in ten seconds, we need 0 - 60 in two minutes!
Currently most car design, and particularly the obscene SUVs (may the inventor rot in hell) waves two fingers at our environment.
That attitude has to be reversed. It is time that the drivers of these monstrosities were regarded as pariahs.
Mike
Nuclear powered cars!
by Michael Vasovski - 5/3/07 1:39 AM In reply to: Just think it through a bit further by mdtrotAnd instead of CO2 emissions, they'll just spit out gamma radiation;)
Hey. I'm just sayin'.
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