March 15, 1998

Planting the Seeds for a Crop of Lean, Green Machines

By MICHELLE KREBS

G.M EV1

asoline costs far less than designer water, and while Americans say in surveys that they want cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles, they are buying record numbers of gas-chugging trucks, which pollute more than cars do.. So is there any reason to fear for the future of the internal-combustion vehicle?

Perhaps, though the traditional gasoline engine -- which uses the energy of gases that explode when fuel is ignited inside it -- will not go away quietly, or quickly. Even the experts writing the obituary for the internal-combustion engine -- whose basic workings were established by Gottlieb Daimler in 1885 -- see it as a mainstay for several more decades, probably in conjunction with other, more modern technologies.

But partly as a public-relations move, partly as a result of government pressure and partly to keep competitors from gaining a technological edge, virtually all the world's leading auto makers are exploring technologies that could ultimately make their current products obsolete.

"No car company will be able to thrive in the 21st century solely with the internal-combustion engine," the chairman of the General Motors Corporation, John F. Smith Jr., said at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. Like many of its rivals, G.M. used that event to show off concept vehicles having an array of power sources.

One impetus is a realization that pollution standards are likely to become more stringent. Already, California and four Northeast states, including New York, have set stricter emissions rules than the rest of the country. Further, the Kyoto agreement on global warming would require developed nations to reduce greatly the emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

On another front, car makers recognize that although gasoline prices are at record lows today, they cannot remain so indefinitely. Vice President Al Gore has called for auto makers to develop family cars that go 80 miles on a gallon of gas. Further, economical cars are essential in Europe and Japan, where gas is expensive, as well as in emerging, potentially lucrative markets like China.

But while a few alternative-fuel vehicles have reached the market, and many more are on the way, the most innovative -- and expensive -- vehicles may never be more than concepts. As of now, even the brightest engineers cannot say which of several promising technologies will take the lead.

DRIVING SMART ARCHIVE An archive of automotive safety, service and maintenance, and technology articles published in 1996-97.

For the short term, a number of companies are continuing to improve gasoline and diesel engines, vastly reducing emissions while bolstering performance and economy. Others are directing their investments into particular types of research, like advanced batteries and fuel cells. But the biggest companies are hedging their bets by developing a portfolio of alternative vehicles; if one technology emerges as the leader, they can quickly pull a vehicle off the shelf.

Auto makers are also working on devices that store energy, like flywheels and ultracapacitors.

And they are experimenting with lightweight materials like aluminum, plastics and magnesium that may make future vehicles much more efficient.

Still, new power sources are particularly intriguing, because of their potential to redefine personal transportation. Here is a look at some leading alternative technologies and their prospects.

Alternative Fuels

Ample and Clean, but Not Perfect

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While working to develop hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles as long-range solutions, the auto industry has been focusing its short-term efforts on alternative fuels like compressed natural gas, ethanol, methanol and liquefied petroleum, or L.P., gas.

	PROS Cleaner burning than gasoline. Abundant supplies and low cost. CONS Limited range. May require large, special tanks. Few fueling stations.

These fuels burn cleaner than gasoline, but are far less dense and take up far more space. Further, they lack the distribution systems needed for refueling. L.P. gas and compressed natural gas require heavy storage tanks that add weight to a vehicle.

Many alternative-fuel vehicles on the market are powered by compressed natural gas. Made up primarily of methane, natural gas is extracted from abundant underground reserves. It costs less than gasoline.

Ethanol and methanol are alcohol-based fuels. Ethanol is produced from grain or agricultural waste. Methanol is an odorless, clear liquid produced from natural gas.

L.P. gas is a dry, gaseous fuel in abundant supply. It burns cleaner, cooler and at a slower, more uniform rate than gasoline.

Some vehicles operate on a single fuel, while bi-fuel vehicles can switch between gasoline and an alternative fuel like ethanol.

Flexible-fuel vehicles have one fuel system and use a mixture of gasoline and alcohol. For example, E-85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Fuel Cells

A Technology Good to the Last Drop

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The hottest new technology, and the focus of considerable research, is the fuel cell. A fuel-cell car runs on electricity produced from the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. The only byproduct is water.

	PROS Extremely efficient. Byproducts limited to water. CONS High cost. Groups of cells excessively large. No infrastructure for producing, storing or distributing hydrogen.

Fuel cells could be used as a vehicle's sole power source, or as one source in a hybrid.

Virtually every major manufacturer has a fuel-cell vehicle in the works, but none are likely to reach the market before 2004.

Fuel cells have been in laboratories since the 1960's and have been used in space. Daimler-Benz, the parent of Mercedes-Benz, is at the forefront of the development of fuel-cell vehicles, having introduced its first one four years ago. Most recently, Daimler-Benz and Ford announced a venture with the leading fuel-cell maker, Ballard Power Systems, of Vancouver, British Columbia, to begin jointly producing by 2004 as many as 100,000 cars a year. General Motors also has a fuel-cell vehicle in the works, and Toyota has a fuel-cell program.

While most companies are developing cells that use hydrogen as their fuel, Chrysler has taken a different approach, in recognition that there is no infrastructure for distributing hydrogen. Chrysler would use gasoline to produce, on board the car, the hydrogen required by the fuel cell.

Electrics

The Glow May Be Temporary

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The earliest electric cars never fulfilled their promise, and faded away by the 1930's. Their long-discussed revival has been slow in coming because of the limited distance they can travel without recharging the batteries.

	PROS Zero emissions. Extremely quiet. Extremely smooth. Low operating cost. Low maintenance cost. CONS Limited range (typically 100 miles or less, depending on outside temperatures and driving conditions). Limited charging facilities. Short battery life. Excessive weight. Less power than a gasoline engine. High purchase price.

Still, a number of electric vehicles have come to market. Because the cars meet zero-emissions rules in California and the Northeast, they offer a quick fix until other technologies, like fuel cells, are practical. Many experts now predict that electric power is likely to be used to compliment other technologies -- unless a technical breakthrough makes electric cars fully competitive with other types of vehicles.

Batteries differ chiefly by the metals used in them; this determines how quickly they deliver energy and defines their range, but each increase in range comes at a substantially higher price. Lead-acid batteries, the current standard, seem likely to be supplanted by nickel-metal-hydride versions, like those in laptop computers. The next step up is lithium-ion.

Most electric models are conversions of traditional vehicles.

While small companies like the Solectria Corporation of Wilmington, Mass., have been selling these conversions for years, the big auto makers are new to the game. General Motors entered the market in 1996 with its two-seat EV1, available through Saturn dealers in California and Arizona. But only a few hundred people have leased one.

The Honda EV-Plus, the first vehicle to use nickel-metal-hydride batteries, was also designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle, and it can be leased by consumers in California. An electric version of the Toyota RAV4 also uses this type of battery, which will be phased into use in the EV1 and G.M.'s S-10 electric pickup.

Nissan is testing its Altra EV, powered by lithium-ion batteries, with utilities in California. Consumers may be able to purchase the car within two years.

Hybrids

2 Answers to the Question

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Hybrids are vehicles that can draw on more than one source of power.

The first hybrid concepts shown by auto makers have typically used an internal-combustion engine (usually gasoline-powered, but sometimes diesel) with an electric motor. They fall into two general categories. In a series hybrid, the engine generates electricity that runs the wheels. In a parallel hybrid, two power sources can turn the wheels.

	PROS Reduced emissions. Higher fuel efficiency. CONS Higher costs, weight and complexity. Energy-storing devices may be required. May require recharging. Batteries or fuel cells may be needed.

The only mass-produced hybrid currently on sale is the Toyota Prius, a small sedan. It is available only in Japan for about $17,000 -- far less than the cost of producing it. A parallel hybrid, the Prius has an electric motor that powers the car up to 12 m.p.h., when gas-engine emissions are highest. Above 12 m.p.h., the car's 1.5-liter gasoline engine starts up and seamlessly becomes the main power source.

The electric motor also operates when maximum power is needed, as when climbing a hill.

When it is running, the gas engine recharges the batteries, so the Prius does not require an external charger.

Toyota is planning to introduce a hybrid, which may not be exactly like the Prius, in the United States within two years.

Chrysler, Ford and G.M. have all displayed prototypes of hybrids that could go on sale within a decade. Some European manufacturers are also working on similar concepts.